Chelsea were booed off at Stamford Bridge after suffering their third defeat of the season against Aston Villa thanks to a goal from Ollie Watkins
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino was left fuming with Levi Colwill during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, which saw them booed off by their own fans at Stamford Bridge.
The loss was Chelsea’s third of the young season and Pochettino was particularly animated on the touchline throughout the game. During the first-half, the Argentine was unhappy with Colwill after he failed to pass the ball to Mykhailo Mudryk.
Mudryk was in plenty of space out wide but Colwill instead passed the ball centrally and Chelsea ultimately lost possession. And Pochettino could be seen gesturing for Colwill to pass it to Mudryk, before being left with his head in his hands after watching his side lose the ball.
However, Pochettino has come in for criticism for playing Colwill at left-back ahead of the likes of Ben Chilwell and Ian Maatsen. “There’s a couple of strange things that are going on,” former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy said on talkSPORT after Colwill played there against Bournemouth last week.
“Hes playing Levi Colwill left-back and he had Chilwell on the bench. I don’t know whether Chilwell had a knock. Chilwell naturally gives you that balance, he’s an attacking full-back. I felt we were lopsided [against Bournemouth].
“Down our left, there was just nothing. I felt a bit for Mudryk because there’s no back-up, nobody is overlapping him.” Things went from bad to worse for Chelsea in the second-half against Villa when Malo Gusto was given a straight red for a late challenge on Lucas Digne, before Ollie Watkins scored the winner.
The result means Chelsea have now failed to score in 13 league games in 2023, more than any other Premier League side and their worst run since 1995. Villa, meanwhile, are currently sixth in the league as they look to build on last season’s impressive campaign under Unai Emery.
Chelsea players complain to referee Jarred Gillett (
Image:
Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)
Speaking after the game, Watkins admitted he was “delighted” to net the winner after scoring just one goal in his last 12 league games. “It is always nice to score and help the team to win,” he said.
“It had been a few games I hadn’t scored. I knew the goals would come but I am delighted it has come in a game that helps the team and helps us get the three points. The defender did well to block the first shot but then it fell to me and I hit it quite cleanly.
“I was always feeling good, but that first goal is tricky to get. We played against a top team in Poland the other day and then it was a quick turnaround. We showed our resilience, kept playing our game.”
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