Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea (Mount 6′, 65′)
A Mason Mount masterclass under the gaze of Gareth Southgate earned Chelsea a routine victory over Aston Villa on Sunday and kept up the momentum for new manager Graham Potter.
Mount capitalised off a disastrous Tyrone Mings mistake to ease the Blues in front after just seven minutes.
The England man then scored a spectacular free-kick in the second half to put the game beyond sorry Villa, who should really have scored more than once in front of their home fans.
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It was by no means a thriller and Villa were good for a point, considering how well they toyed with a rejigged Chelsea down the right flank in the first half.
But Steven Gerrard was left to rue Kepa’s brilliance as Graham Potter made it six games unbeaten since taking over. Villa were booed off at full time.
Analysis: Gerrard finally ditches ‘Aston Vanilla’
Chelsea won’t leave Steven Gerrard alone. Whether the 2-0 defeat proves as costly as the Demba Ba slip at Anfield that contributed to Liverpool’s demise in the title race eight years ago depends on the continued support of his principal benefactor, Villa chief executive Christian Purslow, and changing hearts and minds in the Holte End.
Then as now, it was an unfortunate error that changed his world, Tyrone Mings heading the ball back towards his own goal for Mason Mount to slam past stranded keeper Emiliano Martinez. Mings was cooked by a ball deflecting off the boot of Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell under pressure from Jacob Ramsey, which left him slightly out of position. With his weight the wrong side of the ball Mings was powerless to stop it looping off his head into the path of the grateful Mount.
Aston Vanilla. That was the complaint of Villa fans, the beige nature of the football driving them to despair. Not this day, at least in the first half as Villa fashioned a thrilling response delivering the excitement, movement and exhilaration demanded. Were it not for Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Chelsea goal, and the woodwork, Gerrard might have been talking about a famous victory, or at least the point Villa deserved.
Gerrard praised his team’s display, applauded the reaction, and claimed with justification that Villa had answered the criticisms about excitement and playing the kind of football that brings the crowd with them. He acknowledged the pickle he is in and Villa’s parlous position in the Premier League, just a point above the relegation zone. He won’t hide from that, he said. The challenge he argued was to get his team to play against the lesser gods like they did against Chelsea for an hour.
Read Kevin’s full analysis from Villa Park here
Here are i‘s ratings from the game…
Aston Villa player ratings
Emiliano Martinez – Was on for a fairly quiet afternoon but became unstuck with Chelsea’s second goal. He was unable to do anything about Chelsea’s opener but had he not sidestepped before Mount struck his free-kick then he would probably have saved the second. 6/10
Matty Cash – Had the command of the right flank alongside Bailey against Chilwell and Cucurella in the first half. Lost that control after the break. 7/10
Ezri Konsa – Rarely troubled by Aubameyang and could do nothing about either Chelsea goal. 6/10
Tyrone Mings – His mess of a header gifted Mount the first goal and set the tone for the afternoon. Villa never recovered and Mings, as senior centre-back, will have to take responsibility for it. 4/10
Ashley Young – Had McGinn protecting him and Chelsea weren’t hugely bothered about doing down the right flank. Still, Young did his job well enough. 6/10
John McGinn – Everywhere. Should have scored before the break and helped keep Chelsea’s right flank quiet. 7/10
Douglas Luiz – Had the better of the exchanges with Kovacic and were it not for Mings’ mistake for the opener could have been lauded for a strong defensive midfield display here. 7/10
Jacob Ramsey – Had Cash to support him on the flank and was often the link-man between his full-back and Bailey. A steady game. 7/10
Leon Bailey – Villa’s best player in the first half when taunting Chilwell and Cucurella. It was his cross that gifted Ings a header which Kepa tipped over the bar. 8/10
Danny Ings – Had his pick of shots to fire at Kepa thanks to Bailey’s deliveries, but couldn’t force the ball past the Spaniard. Acted as a focal point for Villa’s attacks but was unlucky not to score. 7/10
Ollie Watkins – Quiet over on the left side, as was Ramsey. In fact he never really got into the rhythm of the game. 6/10
Subs:
Emi Buendia – Gerrard hooked one of his best performers – Bailey – in the hope Buendia could pull a trick out of the bag. He couldn’t. 6/10
Philippe Coutinho – Came on for the workhorse McGinn but offered very little over the final 15 minutes of the game. 5/10
Leander Dendonker – N/A
Chelsea player ratings
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Delivered a string of saves, including a save of the season contender when denying Ings’ point-blank header. Kepa also denied McGinn and was the foil of many a Villa attack all afternoon. That’s four clean sheets in a row now. 9/10
Marc Cucurella – Never quite knew if he was staying or going, playing in a flat-back three didn’t suit Cucurella here, partially because Chilwell’s positioning was also askew. Villa targeted Cucurella and on a luckier day would have had four or five goals. 5/10
Thiago Silva – Tasked with handling Ings, Silva really didn’t have the measure of his man for much of the game. Was helped when the pace of the afternoon eased off. 6/10
Trevoh Chalobah – Seemed happy to keep Watkins quiet for pretty much all of the game. Far steadier than Cucurella on the other side. 7/10
Ben Chilwell – Floated in the ball that Mings so disastrously headed into Mount’s path for the first goal. Chilwell struggled with the defensive duties having Cucurella behind him, and that flank proved Villa’s easiest avenue of attack. 5/10
Mateo Kovacic – Had a fairly ineffectual game as Villa’s Luiz blocked off any aspiration of going forward with the ball. 5/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Like Kovacic was often found standing around in the middle as others dictated play. Fared better as the game went on. 6/10
Mason Mount – Couldn’t miss from four yards out when Mings gifted him the ball seven minutes in. His stunning free-kick left Martinez for dead. It was Mount’s golden touch that decided this game. 9/10
Raheem Sterling – Like the rest of Chelsea’s attack had a fairly quiet afternoon. He was often left with Aubameyang and Havertz alone to conjure something out of nothing. Sterling hit the bar and headed a golden chance wide. 7/10
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Chelsea opted not to pitch Aubameyang up against Mings and Konsa in a physical battle, and instead benefitted from the striker coming across to the flanks. Not a vintage performance but effective enough. 6/10
Kai Havertz – A weak shot 30 mins in after some hard work from Sterling was all Havertz could muster before coming off. 6/10
Subs:
Kalidou Koulibaly – Replaced Havertz at the break as Potter sought to change things around. It worked. Villa were far less direct and impactful in the second half. 7/10
Cesar Azpilicueta – Came on for Cucurella at the break, the experiment with him and Chilwell evidently over. Azpilicueta went to the right flank, Koulibaly into the left of the back three, and Chelsea looked far more organised. 7/10
Conor Gallagher – Replaced Aubameyang as Chelsea tightened up in the middle. Impish with the ball at his feet but didn’t offer enough to suggest he’ll be starting against Brentford on Wednesday. 6/10
Jorginho – Was give 25 minutes as a Kovacic replacement to hold Villa at bay. Did fairly well at it too. 7/10
Armando Broja – N/A
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