Graham Potter – again – faces an increasingly uncertain future at Chelsea following a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa. The Blues have now slipped into the bottom half of the table and any hope of clinching a European qualification place via the Premier League looks out of sight with ten games left to play.
Ollie Watkins put the Villans ahead inside the opening 20 minutes after latching on to a misplaced header from Marc Cucurella. The England international capitalised on the Spaniard's mistake and proceed to lob Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was rooted to the spot.
However, Watkins could have very easily put Villa ahead moments earlier had he not dragged his effort wide. Chelsea had their fair shares of chances; Mykhailo Mudryk scuppered a pair of big chances and Ben Chilwell had a goal chalked off for an adjudged foul on Ashley Young in the build-up.
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After Chelsea failed to take advantage of their chances, John McGinn rifled in a wonderful strike from long-range. Despite the technical excellence required to pull off such an effort, questions have been asked of the Blues shot-stopper.
So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how the national media reacted to Chelsea's defeat.
The Guardian
"Emery’s quiet, technocratic approach continues to win approval with Villa fans while Potter remains an uneasy fit for Chelsea, his team’s recent revival forgotten amid this latest reverse," wrote John Brewin for The Guardian.
"He was barracked loudly at full-time. His appointment again looks ill-starred at a club where turbulence is part of the package. Winning matches is supposed to be, too.
"For all Chelsea’s burning of cash, the second-city club have ambitions, too, their own venture-capital dollars to spend. They now look up rather than down, having collected more points than anyone apart from Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United since Emery’s arrival."
The Mirror
"It has been far from the ideal start to life at Chelsea for Mykhailo Mudryk following his mega-money move in January," wrote Jacob Leeks for the Mirror. "The Ukrainian has registered just one assist and has failed to score in his eight games so far.
"His misery shows no sign of ending, if his performance against Villa is anything to go by. He spurned two major opportunities, including when he went one-on-one against Martinez, but could only deliver a limp shot.
"The attacker also won just one of his ground duels and failed to complete a dribble before being subbed off after 58 minutes. Potter will need to go back to the drawing board to find a way to get the best out of his star signing."
Daily Mail
"Chelsea were booed off by some at half-time and all who remained at full-time, the volume of them significantly cranked up following Andrew Madley’s final whistle," wrote Adrian Kajumba for the Daily Mail.
"Worse than that, a small pocket of home fans chanted ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ towards Potter after Villa doubled their lead early in the second-half through John McGinn’s fine drought-ending strike.
"Soon after came a chorus from the Villa end of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning'. Worryingly for Potter, who saw a defensive gamble backfire for Villa’s opening goal, a section of Chelsea fans joined in too."
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