A second-half brace from substitute Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa come from behind to defeat Chelsea in the Premier League and secure a record-equalling 11th win in a row.
Aston Villa staged a sensational second-half comeback to stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, winning 2-1 to secure their 11th successive victory in all competitions thanks to a superb cameo from substitute Ollie Watkins.
The all-time leading Premier League scorer for Villa increased his tally for the club to 80 with two goals in the final 27 minutes, after only being introduced by Unai Emery from the bench on 58 minutes.
Before Watkins’ arrival, Villa had only attempted two shots – both blocked – and looked set to suffer their first competitive defeat since 1 November.
Chelsea deservedly took the lead eight minutes before half-time, but the goalscorer João Pedro will probably never have to do less to get himself on the scoresheet than with this goal.
Reece James’ corner was a wicked inswinger, causing Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez problems before being outmuscled by Chelsea’s Brazilian forward and the ball took the slightest of deflections off his leg before hitting the back of the net. It did touch Pedro, but James will have felt hard done by to not be credited with the goal direct from his set-piece delivery.
It was yet another goal from a corner situation for Enzo Maresca’s side this season – their eighth already in the Premier League. Only Arsenal (10) have scored more goals from such situations in 2025-26.
Considering that they came into this game on such a long winning run, it was surprising to see Villa so weak in attack across the first half, even with Ollie Watkins on the bench.
Across 119 games that Unai Emery has taken charge of them in the Premier League, this was just the second time that his side have failed to attempt a single shot in a half of league football (0 in the first half vs Newcastle in August, the other).
Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa Timeline xG
Villa improved greatly in the second half, but it required the introduction of Watkins to produce the goods that turned the game on its head.
Four minutes and five seconds after coming off the bench for Emiliano Buendía, the England international scored at Stamford Bridge for the third time in four seasons. It was just his fourth goal in 25 competitive appearances this season.
A fifth goal of 2025-26 arrived with just six minutes left and ended up being the match-winner.
Rising above Malo Gusto from a pinpoint Youri Tielemans corner, Watkins expertly headed the ball into the bottom corner to send the Villa fans behind the goal into a frenzy.
Coming from behind yet again in this game means that Villa have won a league-high 18 points from losing positions this season in the Premier League – six more than any other team. It already equals the total won from losing positions in the whole of last season and 2023-24 (18), while only in 1993-94 (21 from 42 games) have they won more in a Premier League campaign.
Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa Timeline
The victory means that Villa have equalled their all-time club record of 11 consecutive victories, set in both September 1897 and March 1914. In the Premier League only, it’s now eight wins in a row. They last enjoyed a run this long in the top-flight between October-December 1910, when they won nine games in succession.
More importantly, the comeback victory came on the same day that both Manchester City and Arsenal won in their quest for the Premier League title, seeing Villa keep up with their rivals in the race.
There’s still a long way to go, but the character shown in this latest win shows they should be considered genuine contenders.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Chelsea vs Aston Villa stats from their Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge on 27 December 2025.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa Post-Match Stats
Aston Villa have won eight consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since a run of nine wins between October and December 1910. In all competitions, their 11-game winning run equals a club record, set in September 1897 and March 1914 previously.
Across the last three Premier League seasons, Aston Villa have won more points from losing positions than any other Premier League side (54).
Ollie Watkins has scored in three of his last four Premier League appearances at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea (4 goals). Since the start of 2020-21, only Erling Haaland (24) has scored more away Premier League goals in London than Watkins (18).
Ollie Watkins is the first player in Premier League history to score the winning goal on three separate occasions at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea (April 2023, September 2023, December 2025).
At the end of Matchday 5 this season, Aston Villa sat 18th and were without a single Premier League victory (D3 L2). From MD6 onwards, the Villans have won more games (12) and more points (36) than any other side.
Premier League Stats Opta
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