Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score twice as Aston Villa overcame Chelsea’s dominance to secure a historic eleventh straight win.
Aston Villa maintained their surge as genuine title contenders with a stunning 2-1 comeback victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Despite being dominated for the first hour, Unai Emery’s side secured their eighth consecutive Premier League win and eleventh in all competitions, equalling a long-standing club record.
Chelsea controlled over 70 percent of possession in the first half but ultimately failed to capitalize on their physical and tactical superiority.
The Blues took a deserved lead in the 37th minute when a Reece James set-piece deflected in off Joao Pedro.
Chelsea appeared poised to double their advantage after the break, with Emi Martinez forced into several key saves to deny James and Cole Palmer.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically in the 58th minute following a triple substitution by Emery that introduced match-winner Ollie Watkins, Jadon Sancho, and Amadou Onana.
Watkins leveled the scoring in the 63rd minute, capitalizing on a fortunate ricochet off Benoit Badiashile to beat Robert Sanchez.
The England striker then completed the turnaround six minutes from time, heading home a Youri Tielemans corner to leave the home side empty-handed.
While no direct quotes were provided in the text, the report noted the victory “establishes them very firmly as title contenders” ahead of their monumental clash with Arsenal this Tuesday.