Chelsea after conceding late to Aston Villa
Analysis Aston Villa

Pressure on Maresca and Chelsea grows as Rashford stars in Aston Villa victory

By Dan Bennett -
Chelsea after conceding late to Aston Villa (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) via ONE FOOTBALL

Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are looking increasingly in doubt by the week after they let a one-goal lead slip to lose 2-1 to Aston Villa.

Angst among Blues supporters has been growing after a run of form which has seen them go from being talked about as genuine title contenders to dropping out of the top-four places.

Enzo Fernandez’s early opener had set up what looked as though it would be a comfortable evening for Enzo Maresca’s side but their inability to capitalise on their early pressure cost them once again as a second-half double from Marco Asensio secured Villa a huge victory in their own hopes of qualifying for Europe once again.

The circumstances of the clash were in Chelsea’s favour too. The Blues had the advantage of having more than a week to prepare for this game while Villa had played on Wednesday in a thrilling 2-2 draw against
league leaders Liverpool.

And it told in the early stages, with Chelsea looking far sharper and more energetic. The opening goal came from Villa switching off after a lengthy injury stoppage which eventually saw Trevoh Chalobah replaced by Tosin, with Pedro Neto bursting down the right and squaring for Fernandez to tap in from a few yards out.

Fernandez would not have believed how much space he was left in so close to Villa’s goal and he simply could not miss.

But Chelsea’s plan to control the game by slowing it down and keeping possession of the ball gave Villa a chance to get up to speed and grow into the game. Filip Jorgensen, who has replaced Robert Sanchez as
Maresca’s preferred number one in recent weeks, made a good low stop to deny Ollie Watkins and the forward was again kept out by the Blues shot stopper on 29 mins when his poked effort towards goal was well saved.

The away side were guilty of giving the ball away too easily on a few occasions but still posed a threat against the tired legs of Villa. The goalscorer Fernandez curled just over the bar and Emiliano Martinez was forced to palm away a curling striker from Christopher Nkunku, playing out on the left with Pedro Neto preferred up top and Cole Palmer playing out on the right.

Chelsea began the second half with more impetus than they had ended the first half, with the lively Neto causing the Villa back-line plenty of problems with his runs in behind. He shot just wide of the target
shortly after the restart after finding space down the right.

But Aston Villa found an equaliser a few minutes later. Unai Emery introduced Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford at half-time and the rejuvenated forward had an almost immediate impact, brilliantly turning a cross back across goal for team-mate Marco Asensio to tap in despite the efforts of Reece James, who was utilised in central midfield, to clear the ball off the line.

Rashford looks like he is benefitting from being out of the glare of the spotlight at struggling Manchester United, and certainly made Emery’s side look more of a threat after entering the pitch.

And it was the on-loan duo of Rashford and Asensio who combined again for the winner. Rashford’s ball back across goal was volleyed on target by Asensio and crept under the gloves of Jorgensen, who really should have done better.

Goalkeeper errors have been a constant theme this season for Chelsea which resulted in Sanchez being dropped and Jorgensen’s blunder will surely only lead to more questions about how a recruitment drive which has seen huge sums invested has neglected such an important position on the pitch.

Maresca had urged fans to stick with the team amid increasing criticism in recent weeks with plenty still to play for before the season ends.

And while qualifying for Europe’s elite competition would still represent progress, another season without it would only serve to increase pressure on the club’s ownership and strategy since their takeover.

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