As It Happened:
Two minutes in, Havertz’s cross deflected into the path of Kovacic. He took the shot, but it went well over the crossbar. In the 6th minute, Mudryk pounced on a loose pass by Martinez. The Argentine keeper came off his line to smother Mudryk’s shot. Less than a minute later, a perfectly weighted through ball by Buendia played in Watkins behind the Chelsea back line. The striker dragged his right-footed shot wide of goal. In the 17th minute, Ramsey pulled the ball back for McGinn on the edge of the box. The midfielder’s left-footed strike thumped the crossbar. Villa took the lead a minute later. Luiz played a lobbed pass over the top. Cucurella misjudged the flight of the ball and inadvertently headed the ball into the path of Watkins. The striker dinked the ball over the oncoming Kepa and found the back of the net. In the 21st minute, Felix’s right-footed shot was saved by Martinez at his near post. In the 31st minute, Kovacic’s played in Mudryk with a perfectly weighted through ball. Mudryk’s tame effort was saved by Martinez low to his left. 36th minute, a goal-mouth scramble led to Felix pulling his shot wide of the left-hand upright. In the 43rd minute, Loftus-Cheek’s low cross found Havertz in the box, but his left-footed effort was saved by Martinez low to his left. Chelsea thought they had the equalizer in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. The goal was ruled out because it was deemed that Chilwell pushed Young in the back before he headed the ball into the back of the net. In the 56th minute, Ramsey pulled the ball back to McGinn on the edge of the box. He fired a left-footed shot into the right side of the goal to double Villa’s lead. In the 65th minute, Madueke rolled the ball into Kanté in the box. His right-footed shot went wide of the left post.
It was another lackluster performance from the Blues. Villa dominated the first half. You would think Chelsea would react and go for the equalizer in the second, but the attack somehow looked even worse in the second stanza. The news broke last night that Potter had left the club. Ultimately, football is a results business, and with the club languishing in the bottom half of the table, this was definitely the right decision. Potter has not improved any of the players and has arguably made some of them even worse than they were. Some of his in-game changes have been questionable, and so has his lineups. The job was simply too big for him. Hopefully, this change will produce a positive result against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Player Performances:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga did not have too much to do, but he still picked the ball out of the back of the net twice. He came off his line for the Watkins goal when he would have been better off staying where he was.
- Reece James made a perfectly timed tackle on Ramsey in the first half. he produced a fantastic pass for Chilwell in the first half as well. His impact on the pitch was limited because he wasn’t being used as the right wing-back.
- Kalidou Koulibaly looked flustered on the day. He never looked secure in the heart of the defense. He made a couple of decent challenges, but that was about it.
- Marc Cucurella had a day to forget and got the assist for the Watkins goal with his wayward header.
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a decent defensive performance but ultimately did not threaten at the other end of the pitch.
- Mateo Kovacic looked good on the ball, but he did not have any form of protection on the day. He had multiple opportunities, but it was clear that he did not have his shooting boots on.
- Enzo Fernandez looked comfortable in the midfield and along with Chilwell was one of the few bright sparks on the pitch. He displayed his ranged of passing and would have got the assist for the goal that was ruled out.
- Ben Chilwell was Chelsea’s best player on the day yet again. He was persistent with his runs, but his teammates failed to spot his runs more often than not. He had his header ruled out for a push on Young.
- Mykhailo Mudryk displayed his pace throughout the game and made runs. He should have buried his chance in the first half.
- Joao Felix looked sharp on the ball and made good runs. The only thing that he was lacking was that clinical touch to put the ball in the back of the net.
- Kai Havertz failed to make an impact on the day. He failed to threaten the Villa defenders and only made an impact when he didn’t play as the main man upfront.
- N’Golo Kanté made a decent impact after coming on. He looked energetic and had a chance to score as well. Hopefully, this is a sign that he has put his injury worries behind him.
- Noni Madueke looked lively after coming on off the bench.
- Conor Gallagher failed to make an impact after coming on.
- Christian Pulisic made a late cameo appearance.
