Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea: Marcus Rashford units up two Marco Asensio objectives as winter signings mix to inflict third straight defeat on Blues

A fine day for two men on loan at Aston Villa and another one of those where you wonder if keeping goal for Chelsea is akin to living under a curse.

We should start with Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, because they are men with points to prove and they orchestrated the collection of three here.

Trailing to a goal from Enzo Fernandez after nine minutes, it was Rashford who assisted Asensio’s equaliser, and at the death it was the same combination, in the same order, who turned a draw into a victory.

For Villa, that meant a first win in six league games, so the value is self-evident. Ditto for Rashford on his fresh start away from Manchester United and Asensio as he attempts to justify the hype around his move from PSG.

But let’s go to the winning moment, 88 minutes, and the crushing sense of déjà vu for Enzo Maresca. After the assorted tribulations associated with Robert Sanchez’s goalkeeping, he has placed faith in the gloves of Filip Jorgensen, and he was having a fine game. His saves from Ollie Watkins in the first half and Donyell Malen were first class; the kind that define a result.

And then it all went to wrong with an Asensio volley, which appeared to come off the Spaniard’s ankle and was heading straight at him. Somehow, it squirmed beneath Jorgensen’s body and Chelsea’s recent haul now stands at nine points from a possible 30.

Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday night

Both of Villa’s goals were scored by Marco Asensio (left) and assisted by Marcus Rashford

Former Real Madrid man Asensio joined Villa on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on February 3

Maresca had clarified in the week that his objective this season is the top-four – oddly he seemed unsure about that earlier in the campaign – but this was the sort of performance that indicates trouble on the horizon. His side created chances by the barrow-load and should have been well clear of a heist, but blew it.

Perhaps most conspicuously that was shown by Cole Palmer, who fluffed a one-on-one at 1-0 up and has now not scored for six matches. There is presumably no coincidence in his dip and that of the collective.

Maresca’s approach to the game was a quirky one. He made only a single change to the side thumped at Brighton, with Reece James in for the injured Noni Madueke, but there was a certain amount of madness in how they were set up.

That meant James, a right back, was stationed in midfield, a winger played as the centre forward in the form of Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku, a right-footed striker, started on the left flank.

Whether the hope was to baffle Emery, or merely a means of showcasing the imbalances of a massive squad during an injury crisis, it seemed to work. Neto proved especially effective.

That was shown by his assist for the goal. He had peeled over to the right wing, sucking Ian Maatsen over towards him, and went on the beat the left-back by checking his run and then burning him off with his acceleration from the standing start. With Maatsen demolished, Neto whipped a low ball to the near post.

Rashford started Saturday’s game on the bench before coming on as a half-time substitute

Chelsea No 8 Enzo Fernandez (centre) scored the opening goal before the hosts fought back

Chelsea have now lost three games in a row, while they are without an away victory in 2025

Villa are now only one point behind Chelsea in the Premier League and just two off the top four

Asensio pointed to the sky as he celebrated his second goal to complete Villa’s turnaround

Keeper Filip Jorgensen made a handling error with the shot that turned out to be Villa’s winner

Fernandez touched the finish, but Emery’s analysis might not be kind to Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash – the Argentine was allowed to sprint between them and neither took responsibility for picking him up.

A subsequent gripe will concern his side’s lack of control over the midfield – Asensio is plainly a fine technician, but hustling for possession is not among his qualities. Moises Caicedo was repeatedly left free and easy to dictate the pace.

But still Chelsea could not find a way to make it count. Instead, Watkins was given a succession on chances to level – four to be precise – before Rashford was introduced for the second half. The impact was quick.

Reading the flight of Cash delivery to the far post, and adjusting to a tricky ricochet off Malo Gusto, Rashford rerouted the ball back across goal for Asensio to scrap over the line for 1-1. An offside flag was overruled by the VAR so Rashford had his first assist for the club.

Villa lost Tyrone Mings shortly afterwards to what appeared to be a hamstring injury – the man has no luck – before Cole Palmer embarked on a string of chances he couldn’t quite finish. The worst of them, the third, saw him stumble over the ball as he attempted to round Emi Martinez.

The price was told quickly. First, Malen drew a good save from Jorgensen in a one on one and then along came Asensio and Jorgensen’s Chelsea moment.