Marco Asensio scored twice off Marcus Rashford assists as Aston Villa came back to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday.
Chelsea led early through Enzo Fernandez but didn’t find a second goal, instead losing to run a wretched run to 2W-3D-5L since December 22.
WATCH LIVE – Aston Villa vs Chelsea full match replay
Villa snaps a five-match winless run in Premier League play with the win and are now into the top-seven, one point behind Chelsea.
What’s next?
Villa go to Crystal Palace at 2:30pm ET Tuesday, 45 minutes before Chelsea entertain Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30 pm ET Saturday
Venue: Villa Park — Birmingham
TV Channel: NBC
Streaming: Watch live online via NBC.com
Aston Villa vs Chelsea live score: 1-2
Enzo Fernandez 9′, Marco Asensio 59′, 90′
Aston Villa vs Chelsea live updates — By Nick Mendola
Marco Asensio goal — Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (90th minute)
Rashford sends a hard ball into the mix and Asensio turns it toward goal, where it dips under Jorgensen for a howler of a potential/probable match-winner.
Marco Asensio goal — Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea (59th minute)
The new Villans connect for a goal that counts after VAR reviews an original offside call.
Lucas Digne spins a free kick to the back post and Malo Gusto’s flick of a clearance attempt is stopped from the end line by Rashford.
The Man United loanee taps the ball across goal and Marco Asensio gets it over the line despite Reece James’ best efforts.
We’re square!
Asensio equalizes for Aston Villa against Chelsea
Aston Villa get back on level terms as Marcus Rashford picks out Marco Asensio for a simple finish in front of goal to make it 1-1 against Chelsea at Villa Park.
Tyrone Mings playing on after apparent knee injury
Seeing Mings favoring his knee is a gut punch, and it looked like a non-contact injury.
Lamare Bogarde looked set to take the place of the 31-year-old with 18 England caps, but Mings is asking to continue in the game.
Subs
Marcus Rashford is entering the game for Villa, replacing Jacob Ramsey at halftime.
Halftime — Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea
The match cooled off a bit, which is probably fine with Enzo Maresca.
Shots are 9-5 to Chelsea and the Blues are just edging possession.
Chances at both ends as Jorgensen keeps a zero on the board
Chelsea have been sharp and seeking a second goal, but Villa come close.
A whipped-in cross is redirected toward goal from close-range by Ollie Watkins, but Filip Jorgensen flicks his right leg to full extension to get a bit of the ball and force it away from goal.
Still 1-0 Chelsea, 31′.
Enzo Fernandez goal! Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea (9th minute)
Pedro Neto steals the ball and drives down the right.
He stings a cross into the six and it reached Enzo Fernandez’s shin, rocketing over the line.
Great start for the Blues, aside from a Trevoh Chalobah injury that inserted Tosin Adarabioyo into the game.
Fernandez slots home Chelsea’s opener v. Villa
Pedro Neto races down the line and finds an open Enzo Fernandez in front of goal to make it 1-0 for Chelsea at Villa Park.
Aston Villa lineup
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, McGinn, Tielemans, Asensio, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins
Chelsea lineup
Jorgensen, Gusto, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Neto, Nkunku
Aston Villa vs Chelsea preview — By Andy Edwards
Aston Villa (9th – 39 points) are winless in their last five Premier League games, though Unai Emery’s side has managed four draws in that time, including a 2-2 stalemate with leaders Liverpool on Wednesday. But even then, the result came as something of a disappointment as Villa led after an hour and couldn’t close out the win at home. Emery called it a “fair result” after the game, but Villa are still four points off the pace of Bournemouth and Chelsea in 5th and 6th, respectively, having now played one more game than everyone else (5th place is likely to qualify for the Champions League via the league’s coefficient ranking). Home form has been good (just one defeat, on opening day), but not great (6W-7D-1L).
Enzo Maresca labeled last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton “the worst performance since [he] arrived” at Chelsea in the summer, so it can only go up from there (probably). Most worrying was his assessment that the team didn’t show enough desire, as they failed to win for the seventh time in their last nine PL games (2W-3D-4L). Since climbing up to 2nd place and seemingly entering the title race back in December, Chelsea (6th – 43 points) have been the 12th-best side in the league. Cole Palmer’s disappearance (3 goals, 0 assists in 10 games after 11 goals, 6 assists in the first 15 games) has perfectly personified the Blues’ midseason collapse. That said, a resurgence from Palmer could just as easily drag them back above Bournemouth, Manchester City and/or Nottingham Forest between now and the end of the campaign.
Aston Villa team news, focus
OUT: Boubacar Kamara (thigh), Amadou Onana (thigh), Pau Torres (ankle), Axel Disasi (loan – parent club), Ross Barkley (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Ezri Konsa (undisclosed), Leon Bailey (undisclosed)
Chelsea team news, focus
OUT: Noni Madueke (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Nicolas Jackson (thigh), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Marc Guiu (groin)
Aston Villa vs Chelsea prediction
Villa are in the midst of five games in 14 days after playing Wednesday, before a quick turnaround to play again on Tuesday and then again on Friday, so don’t be surprised when their small squad (at least, in comparison to Chelsea) starts to look tired. If Chelsea can simply last all 90 minutes, they might come away with something here. Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea.
