Ollie Watkins scored the lone goal of the game as Aston Villa beat 10-man Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge.
Watkin’s goal came midway in the second half after Chelsea got reduced to 10 men after Malo Gusto’s red card.
Chelsea had the majority of the possession in the first few minutes of the first half. After Nicolas Jackson won the ball back from Douglas Luiz, Moises Caicedo had an early opportunity from beyond the box, but Emiliano Martinez made a simple save on the low attempt.
As Aston Villa grew into the game, Robert Sanchez had to make a significant save on a volley from Lucas Digne that came from a corner.
Axel Disasi’s header just before halftime appeared to have given Chelsea the lead, but the flag for offside was raised after Disasi misjudged his run from Raheem Sterling’s cross, and VAR quickly upheld the ruling.
The hosts had a strong start to the second half, but their excitement in Villa’s half was swiftly tempered by Malo Gusto’s studs-up challenge on Digne, which led to his dismissal. After a VAR review on the monitor, referee Jarred Gillett enhanced the initial yellow card he had given Gusto to a red one.
Shortly after, Watkins rushed into the area during a counterattack, and Villa took advantage of their numerical advantage to break the deadlock.
Defender Levi Colwill was able to stop Watkins’ initial attempt, but the striker was quick to recover and complete his second attempt from a tight angle.
Chelsea almost levelled matters later on in the game but Martinez made a brilliant save to deny Ben Chilwell, who had made an excellent run into the box.
The loss means this is Chelsea’s worse start to a top-flight season since 1978–79, when they were relegated.
The result also means Villa go up to sixth in the table standings, while Chelsea fall to 14th.
Chelsea’s next game will be a Carabao Cup match against Brighton in midweek, while Villa will host Everton in the same competition.
