Aston Villa’s Watkins piles misery on struggling Chelsea after Gusto’s red card

In the final reckoning it was easier for Chelsea to talk about misfortune in front of goal and rage at a referee who played only two of the allotted three minutes at the end of the first half.

Mauricio Pochettino could argue his spluttering side’s second consecutive defeat at an increasingly irate Stamford Bridge would have been avoided had Jarred Gillett not dismissed Malo Gusto for a risky challenge on Lucas Digne early in the second half, handing Aston Villa the chance to take control of a game that had threatened to run away from them at times.

Sensing that their opponents were there for the taking, Chelsea seized the initiative, with Conor Gallagher offering energy in midfield, Raheem Sterling causing problems on the right and Mykhailo Mudryk in effervescent form on the left. The Ukrainian 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 evade Enzo Fernández at the far post. Even better was when the Ukrainian cut inside, looked to the right and instead cut Villa open with a beautiful reverse pass to Nicolas Jackson. It would have been a beautiful goal, but then this is Chelsea. Jackson’s shot was too close to Emi Martínez and the Villa goalkeeper turned the ball wide.

Shoddy finishing remained Chelsea’s achilles heel. Gusto surged past Digne and found Fernández, who pulled the right-back’s cut-back off target. Sterling kept getting in on the right, only to rush the final pass, and Jackson was having trouble with his attempts to stay onside.

The frustration for Chelsea was that Villa’s attempts to play a high line were far from convincing. Pau Torres was forced into a crucial recovery tackle on Sterling and Boubacar Kamara had to stop a dangerous surge from Jackson.

That said, Chelsea did not have it all their own way. There were times when Villa flickered into life, even with Nicolò Zaniolo a lightweight presence on the left and Watkins isolated up front. Only the excellence of Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, in saving stunning volleys from Digne and Zaniolo prevented Emery’s side from stealing the lead.