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Chelsea succumbed to yet another defeat under Graham Potter as they lost at home 2-0 to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, 1 April.
Chelsea came into the game enjoying what was probably their best run of form under manager Potter. They are languishing at the 10th position on the table but had been unbeaten in their last three.
They made three changes, bringing in Marc Cucurella, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Mykhailo Mudryk for Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, and Christian Pulisic.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, are also in good form. They had won three of their last four and made two changes from the side that beat Bournemouth. The injured Matty Cash and Leon Bailey made way for Ashley Young and Boubacar Kamara. Both sides knew that a win would push them into the ninth position, ahead of Fulham.
Chelsea started the game brightly. They should have taken the lead when a mistake at the back left Mudryk with a simple chance, but the Ukrainian could only hit it straight at the keeper.
A hopeful long ball from Douglas Luiz led to a mix-up between Kalidou Koulibaly and Cucurella. Ollie Watkins was through on goal and the in-form striker made no mistake in giving the away side the lead (18').
Despite conceding, Chelsea enjoyed the lion's share of the possession. Mudryk spurned another glorious chance in a one-on-one with Emi Martinez as the home side began to get frustrated.
The Blues thought they got the equalizer when Ben Chilwell's header found the back of the net. But the full-back was ruled to have shoved the defender on his jump and the goal was disallowed.
It was an entertaining half played at a high tempo as Chelsea went into the break trailing 1-0.
Chelsea continued to attack the Villa goal in the second half, with Cucurella and Chilwell having hopeful efforts.
It grew from bad to worse for Chelsea as Aston Villa doubled their lead soon thereafter. A clearance off a corner saw the ball fall to John McGinn who unleashed a delightful strike from 25 yards out to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga (56').
N'Golo Kante came off the bench in what was his first appearance for the club in months. Noni Madueke was also brought in for Mudryk.
The Blues then had a penalty shout when Martinez's save from Joao Felix appeared to bounce off Tyrone Mings' arm. However, VAR ruled that the ball hit his shoulder and no spot-kick was awarded.
Chelsea continued to enjoy possession but did not really threaten the Villa goal. The game ended 2-0 as the Blues slumped down to 11th in the Premier League in what has been a dreadful season. Here are the player ratings for the team.
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 5.5/10
Arrizabalaga was largely untroubled throughout most of the game, but Aston Villa had only two shots on target the whole game, both of which resulted in goals.
Kalidou Koulibaly - 6.5/10
Despite a poor night for the defense, Koulibaly held his own. He did fairly well, matched up against Ollie Watkins. However, he was involved in the mix-up that lead to Villa's first goal.
Marc Cucurella - 5/10
The Spanish centre-back had a poor outing. His header set up Watkins with a comfortable one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. Apart from that, he was largely passive throughout the game, not contributing much to the attack and was subsequently pulled off for Pulisic.
Reece James - 7/10
Deployed as part of a back three instead of his usual right wing-back position, Reece James still managed to put in a good shift. The defender was instrumental in preventing counter-attacks and was a constant threat with his impressive range of passing.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 5/10
The alternative to James, Loftus-Cheek had a game to forget. He regularly found himself with space down the right flank but was too passive and failed to deliver quality balls into the box or pose any sort of threat. He was subbed off for N'Golo Kante.
Ben Chilwell - 7/10
Despite the loss, Ben Chilwell had a good game. The full-back was a constant threat on the left flank and linked up well with the attackers. He had some angry moments, displaying his frustration to the officials but was a good attacking presence. He must have felt unlucky to have his first-half goal disallowed. He ended the game with two key passes, two dribbles completed, and four shots.
Enzo Fernandez - 6.5/10
The Argentinian youngster had moments of sheer class in an otherwise decent display. He displayed his wonderful range of passing, trying to open up the Villa defense from deep with long passes to either flank. He received a late yellow for a poor tackle but was otherwise solid defensively.
Mateo Kovacic - 6.5/10
Kovacic had a pretty quiet affair alongside Fernandez in the midfield.
Joao Felix - 7/10
The Portuguese international was a rare bright spot on an off night for Chelsea. He showcased his brilliant dribbling skills, attacking the Villa backline directly. He finished the game with seven completed dribbles, two shots on target, and one key pass.
Mykhailo Mudryk - 5.5/10
Mudryk was among Chelsea's worst performers on the day. He struggled to find any sort of attacking rhythm. He missed two glorious chances, failing to spot Havertz for an easy finish on the first one and not testing Martinez at all for the second one. The winger has had a tough time since his arrival.
Kai Havertz - 6.5/10
The German attacker had a solid outing. He was good in build-up play. He finished with three shots on target and three key passes.
Chelsea's substitutes
N'Golo Kante - 6/10
The Frenchman made a return after a long injury layoff and showed glimpses of what Chelsea had been missing all game. He was energetic and made a few good passes and runs but overall could not provide chances to score a goal.
Noni Madueke - 6.5/10
The young winger had a positive impact on the game, coming on for Mudryk. Deployed on the right side, Madueke looked to attack the left-back directly and deliver balls into the box but Chelsea lacked the finishing touch.
Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher - N/A
The pair came on for the last few minutes and did not play enough to merit a rating.
