Asensio bags brace as Villa complete second-half comeback

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Marco Asensio bagged a second-half brace as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday evening.

Villa’s two marquee January loan signings, Asensio and Marcus Rashford, combined twice as Unai Emery’s side recovered after Enzo Fernandez’s early goal to record a famous victory in front of their home fans.

There was, however, a huge slice of fortune involved in Villa’s winner, after Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen allowed Asensio’s strike to slip through his fingers.

The result lifts Villa to seventh, while Chelsea, experiencing a poor run of results, remain in sixth after missing the chance to break back into the top four.

How the action unfolded

Inside 10 minutes, Chelsea were ahead. A mazy run from Neto saw the winger drive to the byline before drilling the ball across the face of goal before where the oncoming Fernandez was waiting to bundle home.

Advantage Blues. But shortly after Ollie Watkins went close when his shot stung the legs of Chelsea keeper Filip Jorgensen.

Marcus Rashford was introduced after the break as Emery looked to instil some further attacking prowess into his side.

Neto, proving to be Chelsea’s bright spark on the night, fizzed an effort wide of the post before testing Emi Martinez with a low strike moments later.

But soon after, Villa did find their equaliser with their Manchester United loanee playing a key part in it.

Matty Cash floated a cross to the far post which found the outstretched right leg of Rashford whose poke across goal was bundled in by Asensio.

The offside flag was initially raised but after a VAR check, the goal was awarded and Villa were back in the tie.

Cole Palmer then had a great chance to reinstate Chelsea’s lead when he was played through by Moises Caicedo. But the England international was hesitant to take the shot and the delay enabled Ezri Konsa to get back and block the eventual effort.

The game was beginning to open up; a point seemingly deemed insufficient by either team.

A draw seemed unlikely and, sure enough, as the game headed towards second-half stoppage time, Villa claimed the advantage.

Rashford slid Donyell Malen through but Jorgensen was equal to it. However, from the resulting short corner, Rashford’s ball was met by Asensio whose shot squeezed through the Chelsea keeper’s hands.

It looked to be a rudimentary save but the Jorgensen made a real hash of it to gift the hosts the lead and, ultimately, the three points.




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