Chelsea’s two-and-a-half-month wait for a Premier League away win goes on after a late error from Filip Jorgensen consigned them to defeat at Aston Villa and meant they missed an opportunity to move back into the top four.
This battle of two teams chasing European places was a tight affair, with Enzo Fernandez’s close-range finish early in the first half giving the visitors the lead.
Chelsea had not won any of their previous five away games in the Premier League, with their last success on the road coming at Tottenham Hotspur on December 8.
That had contributed to them slipping down to sixth place at the start of this match, with head coach Enzo Maresca increasingly in need of positive results to inject momentum back into his side’s season.
Chelsea looked on course to do just that but Marco Asensio’s equaliser — initially ruled out for offside — was awarded after a VAR review, the Spaniard tapping in from Marcus Rashford’s cutback.
The match looked to be heading for a draw but Jorgensen somehow allowed an Asensio volley to squirm underneath him in the 89th minute. The defeat means Chelsea stay sixth, with Villa one place and one point behind them.
Simon Johnson and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the main talking points.
Palmer cutting an increasingly frustrated figure
The debate over what is wrong with Cole Palmer will only intensify after he extended his run without a goal or an assist as Chelsea suffered a fourth consecutive away defeat.
Palmer’s barren streak has now reached six matches and the worry for Chelsea is he is now missing opportunities he used to take in his sleep.
The England international was a major factor in why Chelsea did not win this game. They should have gone 2-1 up; instead, they were the ones on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline.
There were two moments in the second half that left everyone in the Villa Park open-mouthed. On the first occasion, Palmer was found in lots of space on the edge of the area. Everyone in the stadium expected the net to bulge as Palmer went for the curler but the ball actually went quite a few yards wide of the post.
But a bigger sign of his lack of confidence right now came when he was played through one-on-one against Emiliano Martinez. Palmer hesitated, slipped and failed to get a decent shot off, something unthinkable in the first 18 months of his Chelsea career.
All the top players can go through a lean spell and Palmer is merely showing he is human after all.
Yet Maresca should perhaps be more concerned about how he is reacting to the downturn on the pitch. There were a few angry outbursts aimed towards Christopher Nkunku, which was not a good look. This included berating the France international, despite Palmer being the one who overhit a pass straight out of play for a goal kick.
One assumes Palmer is too good a player for the blip to last much longer. But if he wants anyone to blame right now, perhaps he should look a bit closer to home.
Simon Johnson
James’ unusual role in tweaked system
There was plenty of pre-match ambiguity over where Reece James would slot into the Chelsea line-up. Most expected him to play on the right side of a back three, marking a system shift from Maresca, while the line-up on the official broadcast showed him to be operating on the right wing.
Both of those were guesswork, though, as James started the match alongside Moises Caicedo in midfield, with Chelsea adopting a more fluid front line than in previous games. Nkunku shifted to the left, Pedro Neto occupied a free-roaming role that largely saw him play down the middle and Palmer played as a right-sided No 10, where he has previously flourished.
The system worked for most of the first half, in part due to James’ efficient display. His passing range was restricted, but he was largely tidy on the ball, especially when Villa pressed high. There were a few casual one-twos with Palmer as well as some good passes into Malo Gusto, who provided the width on the right.
At times, James’ unfamiliarity with the role was clear as he dawdled on the ball or left passes short. In the 29th minute, he was dispossessed and Villa countered, with Ollie Watkins getting his toe to a cross and forcing a save from Jorgensen’s boot. Seven minutes later, James passed straight to Watkins, who drove forward, beat his man and fired high into the side netting from the left side of the box.
Do Chelsea have a problem to resolve in midfield?
Out of possession, James was tasked with closing down Youri Tielemans and carried out that role well for the opening 20 minutes, getting touch-tight to the Belgian in Chelsea’s man-to-man approach. At times, though, James’ defensive instincts meant he backed off Tielemans to cover the space behind him, allowing the Belgian to play long passes towards Watkins or the wide channels.
James was among those culpable for Villa’s equaliser in the second half, failing to watch the run of Asensio, who was played onside by Fernandez and he bundled the ball over the line before James could get back to clear. Villa’s growing influence left James (and Chelsea as a whole) with limited time on the ball: he had just five touches and four passes attempted in the first half an hour of the second half after completing 27 of 28 pass attempts in the first 45 minutes.
He could not continue man-marking Tielemans, who began dropping between or just ahead of Villa’s centre-backs to receive the ball, either. James instead had to contend more with Asensio, who varied his movement cleverly to keep the Chelsea captain on his toes. At times, James also looked confused as to whether to push ahead or drop back and protect his defence, which contributed to Villa’s midfield dictating proceedings.
Overall, this was an experiment that had pros and cons, but it left Chelsea in the same larger state as before with another lead relinquished and more points dropped.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Neto shows rare glimpse of what he can offer
Chelsea have not been seeing enough from Neto since he joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £51.4million ($65m) last summer but this was more like it.
Neto went into the match with a return of just two goals and two assists in the Premier League — not exactly the kind of figures Chelsea were hoping for. He has not been a first-team regular under Maresca, nor has he always played in his favoured position on the right wing, which has not helped.
What was good about how he was utilised at Villa Park though was Maresca decided to use his pace down the middle, albeit with a bit of licence to roam.
Villa’s defence was troubled by his speed and movement from the outset. Even before he provided the assist for Fernandez’s ninth-minute goal, he had had a goalbound shot blocked by a great challenge from Tyrone Mings.
Chelsea have been needing more end product from him and he certainly provided it when he dribbled past Ian Maatsen and crossed for Fernandez to divert into the net from close range.
The first-half figures reflected his all-round display; the three chances created were the most he has managed in the opening 45 minutes of a league game this season.
Neto continued to give Chelsea an out-ball when they were pressed back towards their own area. It meant a few Villa players had to stay back to guard against the threat. This was clearly a man fired up. After winning back possession in one instance, he urged the away support to make more noise.
The Portugal international looked determined to get on the scoresheet too, sending one shot just wide and another straight at Martinez.
Chelsea have lacked a player to threaten in behind ever since Nicolas Jackson suffered a hamstring injury against West Ham earlier this month. Neto looks like someone who can help fill the void while the centre-forward is sidelined until April.
Simon Johnson
What next for Chelsea?
Tuesday, February 27: Southampton (home), Premier League, 8.15pm UK, 3.15pm ET
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(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
