Aston Villa’s Dramatic Comeback Shocks Chelsea as Marco Asensio Scores Twice

Marco Asensio netted twice as Aston Villa came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Villa Park, closing the gap on the European qualification spots with their first Premier League win in six matches.

Undeterred by the fortress that Villa Park has become—where Aston Villa had only succumbed once in the league this season—Chelsea began strongly, taking the lead within the first nine minutes.

Pedro Neto surged down the right flank and delivered a cross from the byline that evaded Emiliano Martínez’s reach, finding an unmarked Enzo Fernández who simply tapped it in from close range.

The Villa Park crowd rallied behind their team, with Ollie Watkins testing the Chelsea goalkeeper, Filip Jörgensen, before the Blues responded as Fernández narrowly missed a second goal, shooting just over the bar. Watkins, meanwhile, couldn’t convert a chance from a cross by Youri Tielemans.

Chelsea nearly extended their lead with a shot from Cole Palmer that almost deflected in, and Christopher Nkunku tested Martínez with a curling effort. Yet, Villa began to look for their first win since mid-January as the half came to a close.

Introducing Marcus Rashford from the bench provided a boost for the hosts, and he made an immediate impact, combining with another January recruit to score the equaliser.

Matty Cash’s perfectly timed ball found Rashford at the far post, and the Manchester United loanee set it up for Asensio to slot home into an empty net.

As Villa committed more players forward, the game opened up, but they were almost punished when Moisés Caicedo slipped a pass to Palmer, who managed to beat Martínez but was foiled by the recovering Ezri Konsa.

In the final moments, it was clear that Villa were searching for a late winner, although Donyell Malen couldn’t finish from a one-on-one against Jörgensen. However, the Villa partnership struck again in the 89th minute to secure the win.

Rashford orchestrated a quick one-two with Tielemans from a corner, before delivering a slick pass into Asensio, who netted with a timed shot that went beneath Jörgensen.

With six away wins and one draw recorded during matchday 26, Aston Villa defied the odds by becoming the first home winners of the weekend in the Premier League.

This triumph not only ended their five-match winless streak but also brought them to within one point of Chelsea, who remain in sixth place after extending their run without a victory on the road to six league matches.