Aston Villa’s thrilling 2-1 victory at Chelsea on Saturday showcased coach Unai Emery’s exceptional ability to change the course of games, keeping his side firmly in contention for the Premier League title.
Villa’s win, their 12th in 13 league matches, means the club has collected 18 points this season from losing positions—more than any other team in the league. Emery’s impact stretches beyond this season, with data from Opta showing that over the past three campaigns, Villa have gained more points from matches they were trailing than any other Premier League club.
The decisive moment came in the 58th minute at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea leading 1-0. Emery made a bold triple substitution, introducing Ollie Watkins, winger Jadon Sancho, and midfielder Amadou Onana. Five minutes later, Watkins converted a precise through ball from Morgan Rogers to level the score.
The equaliser injected new energy into Villa, who had been pinned back for much of the first half. In the 84th minute, Watkins rose to meet a Youri Tielemans corner with a perfectly angled header to secure the win, delighting fans and proving Emery’s tactical instincts.
“He’s a tactical genius,” said Watkins in an interview with Sky Sports. Emery, however, remained modest: “We are proud of what we are achieving, but we focus on competing and improving.”
Villa, who struggled early in the season, will need to maintain consistency as they prepare to face league leaders Arsenal in London on Tuesday.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca faced criticism as his young side have now dropped 11 points from winning positions at home this season—the most in the Premier League. “We need to understand why we struggle to manage the game after conceding a goal,” he admitted, lamenting missed opportunities to extend Chelsea’s lead.
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Manchester City continued their strong run with a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, while Arsenal held off Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 to stay top of the table. Martin Ødegaard scored for the Gunners, aided by an own goal and a key save from David Raya, keeping Arsenal on 42 points from 18 games, two ahead of City.
Liverpool also secured a 2-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield, with Florian Wirtz scoring his first goal for the club. Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring before Wirtz doubled the lead. Wolves pulled one back through Santiago Bueno but remain bottom, breaking the Premier League record for the worst start to a season with just two points from 18 games.
