Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa: Report, result and goals as super sub Watkins seals 11th straight win

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score twice as Aston Villa came from behind to claim an 11th straight win in all competitions and further their improbable Premier League title aspirations with a 2-1 win at Chelsea.

Villa were comfortably second best in the first half at Stamford Bridge and were fortunate to only trail by a single goal, which came courtesy of a Joao Pedro finish he knew little about.

But the introduction of Watkins just shy of the hour mark turned the game in Villa’s favour, his effort within four minutes of his introduction restoring parity.

And six minutes from the end of normal time he headed home from a Youri Tielemans corner to ensure Villa will go into Tuesday’s game with Arsenal, whom they beat at Villa Park earlier this month, just three points shy of the league leaders.

Chelsea force Emery into action

Chelsea were utterly dominant in the first half, with Cole Palmer flashing wide from the edge of the area early on before Enzo Fernandez wasted a gilt-edged opportunity at the end of a superbly worked move and Pedro was denied by Emi Martinez.

Reece James fired narrowly wide from long range, but his dead-ball delivery was instrumental in breaking the deadlock, with Martinez unable to prevent it from nestling in the net via the slightest of touches from Pedro.

VAR did not agree with Villa claims that Martinez was obstructed by Pedro as he attempted to deal with the cross, and it appeared to be only a matter of time before they fell further behind.

John McGinn had to produce some smart defending to prevent Alejandro Garnacho from tapping in at the back post from a Palmer delivery, and Martinez had to claw away a cross-cum-shot from James, with Chelsea’s consistent pressure forcing Unai Emery into action.

Watkins turns the tide

Watkins, Sancho and Amadou Onana were thrown on in a triple substitution that rapidly paid dividends.

Rogers played an excellent pass into Watkins, whose low finish squirmed under Robert Sanchez, and the Chelsea goalkeeper was by far the busier of the two thereafter.

He was required to repel efforts from Ian Maatsen and another from Watkins before Rogers bent a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.

There was nothing Sanchez could do to prevent Watkins from completing the turnaround as he meet Tielemans with an unstoppable header to pull Villa within striking distance of Arsenal ahead of their mouthwatering clash in North London in three days’ time.