Following a costly error from Blues goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen on Saturday, Marco Asensio’s first goals for Aston Villa earned them a dramatic 2-1 victory over stodgy Chelsea.
Chelsea and top four contenders at Villa Park battling it out for Champions League qualification with Enzo Fernandez’s quick-fire opener.
However, Asensio scored after the break when he was initially denied offside before being given by VAR. He had earlier signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
The former Real Madrid forward squirmed past Jorgensen’s terrible attempted save to equalize with Villa’s stunning winner.
After Jorgensen replaced Robert Sanchez, who is even more prone to errors, this was Chelsea’s most recent goalkeeping disaster this season.
Chelsea are now one point adrift of the top four in sixth place after being defeated four of their last five games in all competitions.
Bemoaning Jorgensen’s error, coach Enzo Maresca said: “The keeper position is very difficult. Everyone is aware of your error when you make it.
Filip is our keeper at this time, but he made a mistake, and we must work together.
We did not deserve to lose, the author said. Even after the 1-1 we had chances to score.
We had some excellent chances, and “anything can happen in this league unless you’re clinical,” he said.
Seventh-placed Villa, who held leaders Liverpool to a hard-fought 2-2 draw in midweek, are one point behind Chelsea thanks to a result that rekindled their own top four ambitions.
– Fresh blow –
Unai Emery, the manager of Villa, criticized the impact of the signings of Asensio and Marcus Rashford as saying: “We were trying to improve our squad with their skill and quality.
“Asensio can get the tempo we need,” he said. As he did today, he can score goals and receive assists. I need that. Marcus played a fantastic 45 minutes. We now want him to be consistent”.
Chelsea failed to score a single shot on target in a league game last week, losing 3-0 to Brighton, for the first time since 2021.
Maresca was so frustrated that he branded it the “worst performance” of his first season in charge.
Chelsea could still challenge for Champions League eligibility next season, the Italian said confidently this week.
This was a fresh blow to Maresca’s belief as Chelsea capitulated in dismal fashion.
After Pedro Neto’s sharp run and low cross opened Villa’s defense, Fernandez gave the Blues a ninth minute lead with a tap-in.
The Argentine midfielder almost doubled the lead with a curling effort that flew just over, and Tyrone Mings, the Villa defender, deflected his shot into the sidenett.
However, Chelsea once more blew the lead after winning just one of their previous five league games, in which case they had scored the first goal.
Rashford, sent on at half-time, stretched to turn Matty Cash’s cross into the six-yard box, where Asensio poked home as Chelsea appealed for offside.
Initially the 57th minute goal was disallowed, but a VAR review showed Fernandez was playing Rashford onside, allowing Asensio to celebrate.
Palmer sprinted clean through his lines before taking an unnecessary long shot as Ezri Konsa cleared his goal-bound effort.
The 89th minute saw Villa receive the points, which was a significant moment.
Asensio was picked out by Rashford, but Jorgensen’s shot slipped past him as it flew over the line.
Source: Channels TV
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