Enzo Maresca could only watch on from the stands as Aston Villa came back from behind to beat Chelsea and move ten points clear.
Chelsea drop to fourth in the Premier League standings, and it couldn’t have happened in a worse manner.
Before the interval, Chelsea were the team on top. It wasn’t until after the hour mark that Unai Emery’s side got back into it.
But it’s a stat from the opening stages of the game that tells the story of just how wrong it went on Saturday evening.
Chelsea drop a huge three points 😑
What has disappointed you most about the performance?
Chelsea lose to Aston Villa
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
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Trevoh Chalobah’s crazy first-half stat vs Aston Villa
As mentioned, Chelsea were unquestionably on top in the first 45.
So much so that one player was enjoying almost as much of the ball as Villa’s entire XI.
Nizaar Kinsella shared to X: “Trevoh Chalobah has completed 40 passes so far tonight, only nine fewer than the entire Aston Villa team combined. (as of 26 minutes).”
Trevoh Chalobah playing for Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Chalobah wasn’t stat-padding either. The possession gap was that wide.
It shows just how much better the home side were. Villa looked like they weren’t up for the game in the slightest and most inside Stamford Bridge will have been feeling pretty good about their chances going into the break.
That’s what makes it even worse, and why that particular stat will frustrate Maresca and the fans alike. Chelsea had to capitalise on their period of dominance. They didn’t.
And Maresca made sure to point that fact out to his players after the game. As Football London were there to report: “For sure, we have to be clinical. We should have scored two or three goals by the time they scored the goal. We need to manage the game better.”
How do you feel about the decision not to penalise Ian Maatsen? 🤔
“The referee’s call of no penalty to Chelsea was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Maatsen’s arm was in a justifiable position.”
Premier League Match Centre on why Chelsea were not awarded a penalty in Aston Villa defeat
Pedro Neto of Chelsea is challenged by Ian Maatsen of Aston Villa
Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images
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Hard to pinpoint blame for Villa loss
Honestly, even after Villa equalised, there was little to complain about from a Chelsea perspective.
Ollie Watkins’ first goal was a stroke of luck that wasn’t down to any particular error. The second was a set-piece, which is less acceptable, but there were no standout terrible performers.
And that’s even more concerning.
They were just bang average in the second half of a tie that called for a ‘do-or-die’ attitude.
It was a 5/10 performance all around from Chelsea. That just won’t cut it.
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