In the final reckoning it was easier for Chelsea to talk about misfortune in front of goal and rage at an unpopular referee. There is comfort in complaining about injustice and Mauricio Pochettino could argue that his side’s second consecutive defeat at an irate Stamford Bridge hinged on Jarred Gillett dismissing Malo Gusto early in the second half, allowing Aston Villa to take control of a game that had threatened to run away from them.
Yet the problem with blaming the officials is that Chelsea no longer make their own luck. They have lost the fear factor at home and the situation is unlikely to improve until their main striker learns how to stay onside and manages to stop picking up cheap yellow cards.
How infuriating for Pochettino to see Nicolas Jackson ignore his advice about improving his behaviour and earn his fifth booking of the season for stopping Villa from taking a quick free-kick. Such folly epitomised this inexperienced group’s indiscipline. No wonder Pochettino admitted that his team have to grow up. It was so unnecessary from Jackson – none of his cautions have been for a foul – and for all the fury over Gusto’s red for a risky challenge on Lucas Digne the truth is that Chelsea would be better served examining their own failings at both ends of the pitch.
There is no shortage of statistics to make Chelsea wince. They have made their worst start to a season in 45 years, earning five points from their first six games, and have gone 285 minutes without a goal in the league. It is a mess. Chelsea have broken the British transfer record twice this year, bolstering their midfield by paying £106.8m for Enzo Fernández and £115m for Moisés Caicedo, and look further away than ever from challenging for a place in the top four.
Beating them does not take much. Villa were nothing special, creating little before Ollie Watkins scored his first goal of the season, punishing an error by Thiago Silva by breaking the deadlock in the 73rd minute. Unai Emery’s side lacked cohesion at first. Villa were leggy after losing at Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday; Chelsea should have taken advantage.
The hosts were sharper during the early stages, with Raheem Sterling causing problems on the right and Mykhailo Mudryk in effervescent form on the left. He is yet to hit his stride since leaving Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but the first 45 minutes were surely Mudryk’s best in a blue shirt. The winger was full of positive intent on the ball, repeatedly testing Matty Cash, and should have gone in at half-time with at least one assist to his name.
Of the standout contributions from Mudryk, there was the moment when he tore beyond Cash and his fizzing cross just evaded Fernández at the far post. Better still was when the Ukrainian sliced Villa open with a beautiful reverse pass to Jackson, who saw his shot turned behind by Emi Martínez.
Shoddy finishing is the main dilemma for Chelsea, who have beaten only Bournemouth and Luton in the league since sacking Graham Potter in April. There was a poor effort from Fernández, wasting good work from Gusto on the right. Sterling kept exposing Villa’s risky high line but could not find a final pass.
Villa settled down. Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz and John McGinn competed with Fernández, Caicedo and the erratic Conor Gallagher. Chelsea needed Robert Sánchez to make stunning saves from Digne and Nicolò Zaniolo before half-time.
Chelsea did not deserve to trail at that stage. They pushed again at the start of the second half, Sterling continuing to torment Digne, Martínez denying the winger. For all their promise, though, Chelsea are painfully naive. Jackson, dangerous but raw, was supposed to be on his best behaviour. The 22-year-old let Pochettino down when he earned the booking that rules him out of the trip to Fulham a week on Monday.
Worse was to follow when Gusto leapt into a challenge near the right touchline. The right-back’s studs were high and Digne went down in pain. It was not a surprise when the VAR, Andrew Madley, advised Gillett to upgrade Gusto’s booking to a red.
Chelsea had to retreat. Pochettino made a defensive change, Mudryk off for Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi moving to right-back. It worked at first. Chelsea sat back, limiting Villa to efforts from Cash and Moussa Diaby.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Yet everything fell apart when Villa broke from a corner, Diaby able to release Watkins after a slip from the increasingly suspect Silva. Watkins ran at Levi Colwill, now playing in central defence after starting at left-back, and his initial shot was blocked. No matter. Watkins regained possession and sent an angled drive past Sánchez.
What Chelsea would pay for that efficiency. They chased an equaliser, Martínez denying Chilwell, Cole Palmer going close after coming on, but there was little cohesion. The club who have spent £1bn remain stuck in 14th place.
