Chelsea have become increasingly predictable in recent months as many of their recent matches start with an early lead and end with a failure to capitalize and secure victory. This happened three times in January in draws with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth and a loss to Manchester City where the Blues scored goals within the first 15 minutes.
It has now happened twice in February in losses to Brighton in the FA Cup and today in a loss to Aston Villa that was crucial for the club’s top four hopes. Thanks to a loss by Bournemouth earlier in the day, Chelsea had the chance to jump back into the top four and just a point off from third place Nottingham Forest but they could not capitalize.
Despite an early injury to Trevor Chalobah, the Blues looked the better side in the first 15 minutes and a brilliant attacking move by Pedro Neto gave them a lead inside 10 minutes. Neto beat Ian Maatsen easily and sent in a lovely cross to Enzo Fernandez who had an easy finish to smash it past his Argentina teammate Emi Martinez.
That's a brilliant assist by Pedro Neto. 🔥
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 22, 2025
He flies down the wing and squares it to Enzo Fernandez for a tap-in that puts Chelsea in front!
📺 NBC & Peacock | #AVLCHE pic.twitter.com/iEGaGKKwoQ
The Chelsea goal got Aston Villa going and they peppered Filip Jorgensen’s goal with pot shots and hits from tight angles but the young keeper was up to the task, at least in the first half. Villa were very much in control of the match but were unable to capitalize before halftime.
Unai Emery brought on Marcus Rashford for Jacob Ramsey and Villa had their cutting edge back through the on loan forward. Matty Cash connected with Rashford in the 57th minute through a deflected cross and the forward squared it for Marco Asensio who bundled it home. It was initially called offside but VAR correctly awarded the goal and Villa were level.
Both clubs were going for it in the last 30 minutes with both Pedro Neto and Palmer spurning golden chances to give Chelsea the lead once again. Palmer’s misfire was the most egregious as he was through on goal and could have fired it home first time or laid it off to Christopher Nkunku for a simple finish.
Instead, Villa took a late lead through Asensio and a howler courtesy of Jorgensen who played a great match otherwise. The young keeper allowed Asensio’s bouncing hit from outside the box to squirm under him and it trickled in to the Chelsea net to give Villa the lead and all three points.
Aside from that mistake and the usual misfiring in front of goal, this was a solid performance from Chelsea and a draw would have been a good result considering recent struggles and the opposition. Instead, an indiivdial mistake continues the spiral Chelsea are currently in and gives them their fourth loss in five matches.
Next up for the Blues are two matches against relegation fodder in Southampton and Leicester City where they should collect six points but nothing is straightforward these days for Chelsea. This is especially the case with a trip to Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League sandwiched between those two Premier League fixtures.