Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on December 27, 2025, 07:25:17 PM
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Never in doubt.
11 in a row. 8 in a row in the league. 17 wins out of 19.
Ollie was magnificent and changed the game. Sancho also excellent.
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Wow.
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Lost for words. Literally. It’s stunning that we find a way every time to win games. The resilience amongst this group is just astonishing.
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Can we believe?
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Amazing result. Ollie makes such a difference.
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Chelsea handed their John Bumstead on a plate.
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Rope-a-dope city. Chelsea absolutely shell shocked
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Absolutely magnificent last 30 minutes, when we eventually turned up they couldn't live with us...
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11 wins in a row is, I believe, a new club record.
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Our subs better than theirs.
All 3 were outstanding.
Game of 2 halves
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A walk in the park.
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Major credit to Watkins and Sancho.
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The 3 subs of Ollie, Onana and Sancho were exceptional when they came on, totally changed the game. Chelsea looked like they were out on their feet in the last 10-15, not the first time we've had a team looking on the ropes late in the 2nd half recently.
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Holy fucking shit. This team is incredible.
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One more point and we get to the magic 40...
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Amazing!
Both the xG believers and haters are going to lose their minds!
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1-2 was a flattering score in the end
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I am so emotional.
I am head over heels in love with this MAGNIFICENT Aston Villa team
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Wx11
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Fantastic energy conservation!
What a second half!!!
Ollie superb.
Sancho on the right at last!
What a Manager we have!
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The subs were great but we weren't as bad in the first half as everyone said.
Notice the ref did his job as soon as that ****** with the hair went off.
Sky Sports and Alan Smith can get fucked the biased ******.
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I don't know what this is, but I love it.
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11 wins in a row is, I believe, a new club record.
Equals it I think. 1913-14 was 11.
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I cant fucking believe it
Fucking get in !!
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That was amazing. As soon as we decided to turn up the gas they simply could not cope. Fantastic.
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Did not see that second half performance coming in a million years. This team is something else.
Brilliant to see Watkins back to his best.
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Just brilliant.
Picture on the Beeb of Little Emi celebrating next to Unai. Love that.
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Actually unbelievable!
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Wow! What a team!! I love them!!
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Chelsea into 5th with that loss. Who the fuck is this on Sky?
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Watkins, Onana and Sancho completely changed that game. Unai got it wrong first half (although did he? Did he really? I’m fucked if I know) but those subs were genius.
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Jingle Bells.
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Unbelievable turn round after 60 mins. Up to that point we were dismal. After the subs we were brilliant.
The three subs changed the game completely as all three made excellent contributions. I am really pleased for Ollie because he has looked so out of sorts this season. Surely that will re energise him and bring back his confidence. Massive win.
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I lke a bit of tension in my telly, but...that was one of the worst 55 miutes of football we have played all season, followed by some heart and lung busting performances that turned a dead match on it's head. Keep believing you Villa boys!
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Watkins, Onana and Sancho completely changed that game. Unai got it wrong first half (although did he? Did he really? I’m fucked if I know) but those subs were genius.
Was about to say the same. Those three totally took the game away from Chelsea. They couldn't cope. We could of scored 4 in that second half and it wouldn't of flattered us.
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speechless ..I will come back
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Villa give Utd and Chelsea a stuffing at Christmas....about time
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Straight 10 for Watkins. He does that for 60 mins every game and he is a shoe in for the world Cup squad.
We were dreadful in the 1st half and World class from 55 mins onwards, this team is something special. Real chance of top 4 again, that and the Europa League.
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We absolutely mugged them! Emery has played a blinder! I was happy to get 2-3 points from this and Tuesday's game, so the next game is a free hit, in my view.
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Unbelievable, what a time to be alive. I'll be boring my grandkids about this run one day.
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Wow - just Wow!
That was unreal!
Well done unai the triple change - changed the game.
Well done Ollie - he was at his unplayable best!
What a fucking time to be alive!!
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Onana came on and youri pushed to Buendia position.
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Five straight wins away from home having to come from behind. Do better Villa.
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At in laws and sneaked a watch of the first half on a wholly legal stream on the internet. A game of 2 halves then!!!!!???? Get in!
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I did not see that coming after that wretched first half. Incredible.
For all the talent they have, Chelsea are so flimsy when put under pressure.
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Unbelievable, what a time to be alive. I'll be boring my grandkids about this run one day.
That's it, isn't it? This doesn't happen very often.
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We absolutely mugged them! Emery has played a blinder! I was happy to get 2-3 points from this and Tuesday's game, so the next game is a free hit, in my view.
No, let's get that club record!
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Ollie will get the most plaudits for the goals and Sancho was tricky and exciting to watch but Onana was the key sub for me, their midfield wilted as soon as he was in there putting himself about and giving some niggle back. Bogarde cam on and did the same as well and in fact I think the biggest mistake tonight was to leave that sub a little too late, I'd have taken Kamara off 10 minutes earlier because it only needed 1 mistimed tackle and he was getting booked and Onana was in control by that point so we could afford to make the change.
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We absolutely mugged them! Emery has played a blinder! I was happy to get 2-3 points from this and Tuesday's game, so the next game is a free hit, in my view.
No, let's get that club record!
It’s not a free hit, it’s there to be won.
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Lacklustre up until the substitutions, but superb after that. Watkins looked a real threat when he came on.
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This team. Amazing.
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
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Great win, superb 2nd half….this is brilliant.
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Well, that was alright :)
We absolutely mugged them! Emery has played a blinder! I was happy to get 2-3 points from this and Tuesday's game, so the next game is a free hit, in my view.
No, let's get that club record!
It’s not a free hit, it’s there to be won.
Absolutely this. I want something’s flesh.
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Wow, our subs changed the game. Breathtaking last 30 minutes. 7 points ahead of 4th. Sad that we lose Cash and Bouba for Arsenal though.
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Any point against Arsenal and im going to start believing
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Wow, our subs changed the game. Breathtaking last 30 minutes. 7 points ahead of 4th. Sad that we lose Cash and Bouba for Arsenal though.
It is, but I'm going to look on the bright side and say a little rest will do them good, as the pair of them have racked up a lot of minutes this season.
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Think we’re safe now, and not even played half of our games yet.
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
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Ollie saying Emery masterclass...Youri to 10, Morgan out wide with Sancho, Bogey and Onana sat behind....boom...
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
Just posted similar.
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Unbelievable turnaround really. Could hardly get out of our half until the subs. Chelsea collapsed once we equalised. Outstanding winner from Watkins. Even Sancho made a big impact! Thought Cash was outstanding even when we were on the ropes. Back 4 did really well.
Martinez 5 - soft for their goal and bottled coming for another cross just after half time that could have finished us
Cash 8 - silly yellow but that aside bullied Garnacho and used the ball well.
Konsa 7 - solid once again at the back
Lindelof 7 - we really miss Torres ability to play out but nothing wrong with how he defended
Maatsen 7 - took a lot of criticism on match thread but I thought he battled really well against Neto
Kamara 6 - first half passed him by but improved a lot in second half
Tielemans 5 - traffic cone in midfield until moved into 10, much better after that
McGinn 6 - quiet first half but harsh sub I thought, saved a certain goal
Buendia 5 - a bit meh, would have like him to swap with Rogers
Rogers 7 - the one to get us playing I thought, lovely assist for Watkins
Malen 3 - big issue was in midfield but he gave us absolutely nothing up front
Watkins 10 - destroyed them. Deserved the bit of luck for the first but that was a truly outstanding winner. Hold up play, everything was at his very best.
Onana 7 - not his biggest fan but added some much needed presence in midfield
Sancho 8 - fuming when he was brought on but some seriously good touches on both flanks
Digne and Bogarde - Digne was fine but Bogarde was excellent when he came in. Decisive in everything he did.
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Breathless.Speechless. Subs changed it,Onana bossed it.Special mention for Bogarde; I think we have a hell of a player there.
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
I'm starting to feel the same things I did in 1981 .
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
Yeah, me too. It was a very odd thing, but half time I thought “ah well, doesn’t matter cos we’ll get at least 2 in the second half”. And lo, we did.
This Villa team is just bloody incredible.
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After the last two games, Unai anticipated the high press so we played the long ball in first half.
Second half, we played out from the back.
Chelsea didn't know if they were coming or going.
We had a replacement for Bailey all along. Brilliant Sancho, Ollie and Onana.
Well done lads. Fucking remarkable.
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Haven't felt this confident since a run we went on under SGT the year we were runners-up. Felt then we would beat anyone home or away. It's been a long time...
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Fucking hell.
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Congratulations Ollie Watkins. He needed that.
Brilliant subs. Sancho also did well.
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11 wins in a row is, I believe, a new club record.
Equals it I think. 1913-14 was 11.
- Aston Villa 11 wins in a row 11, equaling its all-time record from 1897 and 1914.
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An Emery masterclass. Let them run like fuck for 60 mins & then bring on the big boys to win the game.
A brilliant result & 30 mins of elite football.
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
Yeah, me too. It was a very odd thing, but half time I thought “ah well, doesn’t matter cos we’ll get at least 2 in the second half”. And lo, we did.
This Villa team is just bloody incredible.
I was there in 81/82 and believe me the tension hasn't even started yet! The "Do you want to bet against us?" is not upon us yet
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Brilliant result, well done Villa and especially Unai, what a masterclass in how to get a game perfect in both timing and strategy, of course you don't play Ollie in the first half, he wouldn't have gone the full 90, you give ollie the best chance when Chelsea are knackered, not forgetting Arsenal in a few days, Unai knew Chelsea would come at us like something gone mad 1st half, so the gamble was to run the legs off them, hopefully get in at half time 0-0 or 1-0 down, we did it, then he changed the shape of the team to win, then you bring on Ollie (fresh legs) Onana to shore up the midfield push Tielemans forward and you break them, they had nothing left, Moresco must have been thinking WTF is Unai doing at half time, now he's thinking have I got a job.
Brilliant win and players slightly rested for Arsenal.
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If we could get a Rashford/Asensio style transfer window then who knows how far we could take this.
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An Emery masterclass. Let them run like fuck for 60 mins & then bring on the big boys to win the game.
A brilliant result & 30 mins of elite football.
That's it isn't it? I fucking love that man.
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
Yeah, me too. It was a very odd thing, but half time I thought “ah well, doesn’t matter cos we’ll get at least 2 in the second half”. And lo, we did.
This Villa team is just bloody incredible.
I was there in 81/82 and believe me the tension hasn't even started yet! The "Do you want to bet against us?" is not upon us yet
Me too
I keep telling my son and daughter’s partner to drink it in and enjoy it. 3 years under MON was great but this is different gravy.
Arsenal will bottle it. City are the real issue. Both have bigger and better squads than us but we have the master Unai
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Brilliant result, well done Villa and especially Unai, what a masterclass in how to get a game perfect in both timing and strategy, of course you don't play Ollie in the first half, he wouldn't have gone the full 90, you give ollie the best chance when Chelsea are knackered, not forgetting Arsenal in a few days, Unai knew Chelsea would come at us like something gone mad 1st half, so the gamble was to run the legs off them, hopefully get in at half time 0-0 or 1-0 down, we did it, then he changed the shape of the team to win, then you bring on Ollie (fresh legs) Onana to shore up the midfield push Tielemans forward and you break them, they had nothing left, Moresco must have been thinking WTF is Unai doing at half time, now he's thinking have I got a job.
Brilliant win and players slightly rested for Arsenal.
This coaching lark is easy innit
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THIS TEAM, THIS MANAGER.
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I preferred the 80/81 league season...
:P
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
Yeah, me too. It was a very odd thing, but half time I thought “ah well, doesn’t matter cos we’ll get at least 2 in the second half”. And lo, we did.
This Villa team is just bloody incredible.
I was there in 81/82 and believe me the tension hasn't even started yet! The "Do you want to bet against us?" is not upon us yet
Me too
I keep telling my son and daughter’s partner to drink it in and enjoy it. 3 years under MON was great but this is different gravy.
Arsenal will bottle it. City are the real issue. Both have bigger and better squads than us but we have the master Unai
Rudy us old gits will be just as excited as the youngers won't we?
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It’s pretty remarkable to have been so bad in the first half and have the capacity to win from there, at one of the toughest places to go in the league. Just remarkable.
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First half, good defending but generally awful.
After 60 minutes Chelsea looked like Rabbits in headlights, we battered them.
Ollie was excellent, creating havoc for them.
Onanna was immense.
Could we?
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Ollie will get the most plaudits for the goals and Sancho was tricky and exciting to watch but Onana was the key sub for me, their midfield wilted as soon as he was in there putting himself about and giving some niggle back. Bogarde cam on and did the same as well and in fact I think the biggest mistake tonight was to leave that sub a little too late, I'd have taken Kamara off 10 minutes earlier because it only needed 1 mistimed tackle and he was getting booked and Onana was in control by that point so we could afford to make the change.
Spot on Paul. Onana was a huge influence.
Im just a bit bloody zen now, like what the actual f**k is this run with this team. I dont expect us to beat Arsenal on Tuesday..,,but…
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We closed the game out well tonight as well. My heart rate was at minor heart attack stage rather than full on cardiac as it is normally !
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All that conserving energy in the first half played dividends as Chelsea ran themselves out
Then give them a sound thrashing in the second half
easy
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Mine eyes have seen the glory, those eyes are a bit misty
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All that conserving energy in the first half played dividends as Chelsea ran themselves out
Then give them a sound thrashing in the second half
easy
Like Paul on the Road to Damascus!
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Side note; was Sanchez even booked for handling it outside of the area?
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Onana made all the difference for me. Of course it wasn't everything but him stepping into everything in the middle third was vital.
And to shove it up Sky. Appalling bias again and a funeral reaction, with grudging praise from Smith. We weren't beat at HT, nor were we world beaters after but the slant towards the home side was embarrassing.
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Still can’t believe it. Wow!
Think the last comparable WTF transformation I’ve watched on screen was seeing From Dusk til Dawn at New St Odeon. Ollie Watkins playing the Salma Hayek role.
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Watkins half hour was the best I've seen from a Villa "number 9" type centre forward for a while, he proper worked them over
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
This is far better than 81/82. The level of consistency these guys are playing at is far better.
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
This is far better than 81/82. The level of consistency these guys are playing at is far better.
Problem is 2 other teams are better than Ipswich
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Still no idea why Kamara got booked. Probably prompted by that hairy ****** who ran the game until he was subbed.
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Couldn’t celebrate Ollie’s winner because my six week old was asleep on my shoulder. She’s seen us win 10/10 games since she was born. I’ll be boring her with this story for many years to come hopefully.
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We finished 11th in 81/82 and changed manager, i'd prefer not to have a league repeat. I'll take winning a European trophy though!
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Helped by the mad Maresca substitutions.
But what a turnaround.
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Ollie will get the most plaudits for the goals and Sancho was tricky and exciting to watch but Onana was the key sub for me, their midfield wilted as soon as he was in there putting himself about and giving some niggle back. Bogarde cam on and did the same as well and in fact I think the biggest mistake tonight was to leave that sub a little too late, I'd have taken Kamara off 10 minutes earlier because it only needed 1 mistimed tackle and he was getting booked and Onana was in control by that point so we could afford to make the change.
Spot on Paul. Onana was a huge influence.
Im just a bit bloody zen now, like what the actual f**k is this run with this team. I dont expect us to beat Arsenal on Tuesday..,,but…
Thirded - Onana was immense.
What a performance in the second half. They seemed to belatedly twig that we hadn't been totally engaged for the first 60 minutes, but hilariously, not until they had withdrawn their best players.
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Helped by the mad Maresca substitutions.
But what a turnaround.
It’s got Chelsea fans calling in demanding John Terry take over or bring back Frank. All marvellous.
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Still no idea why Kamara got booked. Probably prompted by that hairy ****** who ran the game until he was subbed.
Interestingly the ref eventually got fed up of their play acting and fouling.
Some really poor decisions.
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Helped by the mad Maresca substitutions.
But what a turnaround.
Taking off Palmer was odd. Their midfield collapsed late on.
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Helped by the mad Maresca substitutions.
But what a turnaround.
It’s got Chelsea fans calling in demanding John Terry take over or bring back Frank. All marvellous.
Cash on a booking against Steptoes, Palmer their most creative player, Cuccerala ( the horrible little shit ) was dominating their left hand side.
Bizarre
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I said to our whattsapp chat at half time 'im going to stick my neck out and say we'll win this'. As much as we didn turn up in the first half and the sloppy goal aside, we defended really well. Onana was superb when he came on but all three subs made a difference really.
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What a night. This team are special. Could not see that at half time. Our subs changed the game. The Chelsea subs made them a mess. Long day. Long drive back to come but who cares after that...
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Couldn’t celebrate Ollie’s winner because my six week old was asleep on my shoulder. She’s seen us win 10/10 games since she was born. I’ll be boring her with this story for many years to come hopefully.
My dad propped me up in front of the telly when I was a couple of weeks old to watch the final against Bayern Munich. Had got my gran to knit me a claret & blue jumper for the occasion.
Forcing her to watch the Villa right now is responsible parenting. She’ll thank you when she’s older.
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We don’t want to get carried away, but one has to ask if what Aston Villa are doing is in fact some kind of dark magic, threatening the very fabric of existence and putting the entire universe at risk.
This 2-1 victory at Chelsea was Villa’s sixth win from behind this season. Nobody else has more than three. Six wins is as many of any kind as Newcastle or Spurs have fashioned all season. Villa’s points per game for the whole season is 2.17; that drops only as far as 2.00 for games where they fall behind. These are already absurd numbers
But remember, Villa didn’t register their first win until game six of the season. So the run is actually six wins from behind in their last 13 Premier League games. And you can make those numbers more ridiculous still, if you absolutely must: this is the fifth win from behind in their last six Premier League away games.
We therefore choose our next words very carefully, acknowledging this is a team that has won 4-3 at Brighton from 2-0 down and 3-2 at West Ham having trailed both 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half: this is the most absurd victory yet for Unai Emery’s title-race-bothering upstarts.
It is impossible to overstate just how one-sided the first half of this game was. Chelsea’s control was entire and absolute, leaving only two mysteries.
The first, more prosaic, mystery: how the only goal they had to show for it came off Joao Pedro’s backside as Emi Martinez decided to fight everyone rather than deal with a Reece James corner.
The second mystery? How on earth were Villa going to end up winning 2-1, as they surely would, after a first half like that? We would eventually get the solution to that one, at least.
Chelsea swarmed all over the visitors from the first whistle. Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto were proving near impossible to contain and even Alejandro Garnacho was having moments.
Villa, for their part, were offering less than nothing. Their first-half performance here really was as bad as we’ve seen from anyone, anywhere this season. Sure, Villa have spent the last few months gleefully confounding xG, but they went in to the half-time break here lucky to have 0.00 in their column while allowing 1.96 at the other end. To be fair, backside efforts from six inches out will presumably score highly with the boffins.
Villa have proved repeatedly that xG can go whistle as far as they’re concerned, but even their number-baiting doesn’t generally extend to the almost total numerical void that was their first half here: having no shots at all, only a few touches in the opposition box and, perhaps most damningly of all, only four completed passes in the entire attacking third of the pitch.
This was a side that looked like it was finally going to blink in the face of once again trying to keep up with the relentless winning pace being set by their two more seasoned campaigners in what is now without doubt a three-horse title race.
We should never have doubted them.
The game spun around entirely on a trio of Aston Villa substitutions just before the hour mark. Off went the ineffective Emi Buendia, the invisible Donyell Malen and John McGinn, who struggled with the pace of the game throughout but who made one vital contribution just before being withdrawn when sliding in to concede a corner and deny Garnacho a tap-in from Palmer’s low cross.
On came Ollie Watkins, who would score both goals, Amadou Onana and Jadon Sancho. The speed and totality of the turnaround was enough to make your head spin.
In the 10 minutes that followed, Villa not only pulled level through a – if we’re being honest – rather fortunate ricochet off Robert Sanchez’s initial save, but had five further attempts on goal, all of them forcing Sanchez into saves, while enjoying 78 per cent possession and more touches in the Chelsea box than they’d managed in the entire first half.
Yes, there was some good fortune about the goal. But the point is that Villa had already earned such fortune by buying themselves a lottery ticket. Watkins’ goal was not even the first clear chance he had in his first few minutes on the pitch.
And his header for a winner that had long attained a sense of inevitability was sure and true. Victory extends Villa’s current Premier League winning run to eight matches. It’s the longest winning run any team in the league has managed throughout 2025, a stat which is to our mind only improved by remembering the second longest winning run belongs to Wolves.
The sheer faith Villa retained in their proven ability to get out of any situation at any time on any ground will surely never have a sterner test than this. The first half was utterly miserable; the second entirely majestic.
They are a baffling team now achieving astonishing things and they don’t look like they’re remotely finished f*cking with everybody, either. Their trip to Arsenal to round out 2025 already looks like it could have vast repercussions for what 2026 looks like. You would rule absolutely nothing out at this stage.
As for Chelsea, they must just feel punch-drunk. The speed with which their full control of this game was whipped out from under them was dizzying and confusing.
It is neither a novel nor particularly interesting point to note that they really could do with a handful of older, more experienced players to help prevent this kind of incident. Chelsea blowing a winning position isn’t quite as frequent a sight as Villa exploiting a losing one, but nobody has now dropped more points this season when leading than Enzo Maresca’s callow side.
What was a few weeks ago a title fight is now a Champions League scrap with Liverpool and whoever else can hold themselves together for long enough. Heaven help us, that might even now be Man United.
But for Villa the opposite. The undignified squabbling over mere qualification for the Big Cup is beneath them now. Ten points beneath them.
They still trail two formidable opponents, but if there’s one thing clear about this Villa team it’s that this is not something they will allow to concern them.
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Sanchez handball twice outside the box should be 2 yellow cards and a red. Enzo and Cucurella both lucky to escape without 2 yellows each. Cash gets yellow 1 foul, Enzo 4 fouls and only gets yellow for dissent, Cucurella f all. And ref "coincidentally " booked our 2 players who were both on 4 yellows so now miss Arsenal game.They really try hard to stop us get top 4 don't they.
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Oh and that booking for Rogers was absolutely ridiculous. Its as if the ref totally ignored Reece James and was just watching Morgan. Abysmal.
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Oh and that booking for Rogers was absolutely ridiculous. Its as if the ref totally ignored Reece James and was just watching Morgan. Abysmal.
He booked them both.
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I can confidently watch the Villa be second best for the first half and think that we will win. We have often created little in the first half and expended the minimum of energy then on 60 minutes Unai makes changes and we dominate.
Watkins was exceptional today, also Onana did a great job, in Unai we have an exceptional coach.
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I don't know what this is, but I love it.
To quote an old live music review of a bunch of dandies - "Like forcibly being plugged into an orgasmatron".
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Five straight wins away from home having to come from behind. Do better Villa.
Is this a world record?
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At in laws and sneaked a watch of the first half on a wholly legal stream on the internet. A game of 2 halves then!!!!!???? Get in!
Why bother? We're a second half tram.
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The mad thing for me is even when we go behind I just have this feeling we can come back - this has to be the best performing team in my 50+ years.
No, it was '80/'81.
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At in laws and sneaked a watch of the first half on a wholly legal stream on the internet. A game of 2 halves then!!!!!???? Get in!
Why bother? We're a second half tram.
On track to win the league
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Side note; was Sanchez even booked for handling it outside of the area?
Looked like his second time to me. They nearly scored from his first offence. Not 100% sure, but it was close and of course they didn’t show a replay.
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"Go and fuck them up"
(https://scontent-lhr6-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/607255631_1488760185940619_2045318611096975582_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_s960x960_tt6&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=uUYFbGs6vc4Q7kNvwGh6csz&_nc_oc=AdkxjIO601kUMjEea94dc0pnQFfZOuBmE0C6JGSRLXO9pG_JuhkeitwxRNf9mZmWUhw&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-2.xx&_nc_gid=LVfCUyiE2m7hIEB2pKIazg&oh=00_AfkAGLRvi02OFIufFXEQhUpTv0RTsoHhVXXZXHOrAJTzdQ&oe=6956289E)
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I wonder what the record is for having individual players score two goals in consecutive games?
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Sanchez handball twice outside the box should be 2 yellow cards and a red. Enzo and Cucurella both lucky to escape without 2 yellows each. Cash gets yellow 1 foul, Enzo 4 fouls and only gets yellow for dissent, Cucurella f all. And ref "coincidentally " booked our 2 players who were both on 4 yellows so now miss Arsenal game.They really try hard to stop us get top 4 don't they.
I was screaming about Sanchez first time and no one mentioned it. But then Smith did when he transgressed the second time. What a fucking wanker.
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All that conserving energy in the first half played dividends as Chelsea ran themselves out
Then give them a sound thrashing in the second half
easy
Like Paul on the Road to Damascus!
Think he's from Winchester.
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Side note; was Sanchez even booked for handling it outside of the area?
Looked like his second time to me. They nearly scored from his first offence. Not 100% sure, but it was close and of course they didn’t show a replay.
In keeping with the general poor refereeing today. The Rodgers/James issue, Fernandez, etc
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I don’t know how to handle this. Total head loss.
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Oh and that booking for Rogers was absolutely ridiculous. Its as if the ref totally ignored Reece James and was just watching Morgan. Abysmal.
He booked them both.
I dont remember him booking James.
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Chelsea will investigate where a plastic bottle that showered the Aston Villa bench in water was thrown from after the Midlands club reported the incident.
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Oh and that booking for Rogers was absolutely ridiculous. Its as if the ref totally ignored Reece James and was just watching Morgan. Abysmal.
He booked them both.
I dont remember him booking James.
He flashed the card twice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c3e0kddvznyt.app#Line-ups
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Chelsea will investigate where a plastic bottle that showered the Aston Villa bench in water was thrown from after the Midlands club reported the incident.
Unai is such a genius he even knew to keep his coat on this week.
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Oh and that booking for Rogers was absolutely ridiculous. Its as if the ref totally ignored Reece James and was just watching Morgan. Abysmal.
He booked them both.
I dont remember him booking James.
He flashed the card twice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c3e0kddvznyt.app#Line-ups
Yep. But Sky kept the camera on our boy. There's a thing
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"Go and fuck them up"
(https://scontent-lhr6-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/607255631_1488760185940619_2045318611096975582_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_s960x960_tt6&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=uUYFbGs6vc4Q7kNvwGh6csz&_nc_oc=AdkxjIO601kUMjEea94dc0pnQFfZOuBmE0C6JGSRLXO9pG_JuhkeitwxRNf9mZmWUhw&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-2.xx&_nc_gid=LVfCUyiE2m7hIEB2pKIazg&oh=00_AfkAGLRvi02OFIufFXEQhUpTv0RTsoHhVXXZXHOrAJTzdQ&oe=6956289E)
Ollie is generally shite and sulky when coming on. He was like a bull when he came on today. tuned in right from his first touch.
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I don’t know how to handle this. Total head loss.
Could be worse. Boxing Day (well, St Stephen's Day) 10 years ago Villa drew at home to West Ham. Check out this embarrassment...
Aston Villa are now winless in 17 Premier League games - only four teams have ever had a longer run in the division (Derby 32, Sunderland 26, Norwich 21 and Nottingham Forest 19 - QPR also had a run of 17).
From her "Lady Karen Brady" Twitter account, came the in-match missive "At Aston Villa...never seen a home team get SO excited about winning a corner before!"
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We don’t want to get carried away, but one has to ask if what Aston Villa are doing is in fact some kind of dark magic, threatening the very fabric of existence and putting the entire universe at risk.
This 2-1 victory at Chelsea was Villa’s sixth win from behind this season. Nobody else has more than three. Six wins is as many of any kind as Newcastle or Spurs have fashioned all season. Villa’s points per game for the whole season is 2.17; that drops only as far as 2.00 for games where they fall behind. These are already absurd numbers
But remember, Villa didn’t register their first win until game six of the season. So the run is actually six wins from behind in their last 13 Premier League games. And you can make those numbers more ridiculous still, if you absolutely must: this is the fifth win from behind in their last six Premier League away games.
We therefore choose our next words very carefully, acknowledging this is a team that has won 4-3 at Brighton from 2-0 down and 3-2 at West Ham having trailed both 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half: this is the most absurd victory yet for Unai Emery’s title-race-bothering upstarts.
It is impossible to overstate just how one-sided the first half of this game was. Chelsea’s control was entire and absolute, leaving only two mysteries.
The first, more prosaic, mystery: how the only goal they had to show for it came off Joao Pedro’s backside as Emi Martinez decided to fight everyone rather than deal with a Reece James corner.
The second mystery? How on earth were Villa going to end up winning 2-1, as they surely would, after a first half like that? We would eventually get the solution to that one, at least.
Chelsea swarmed all over the visitors from the first whistle. Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto were proving near impossible to contain and even Alejandro Garnacho was having moments.
Villa, for their part, were offering less than nothing. Their first-half performance here really was as bad as we’ve seen from anyone, anywhere this season. Sure, Villa have spent the last few months gleefully confounding xG, but they went in to the half-time break here lucky to have 0.00 in their column while allowing 1.96 at the other end. To be fair, backside efforts from six inches out will presumably score highly with the boffins.
Villa have proved repeatedly that xG can go whistle as far as they’re concerned, but even their number-baiting doesn’t generally extend to the almost total numerical void that was their first half here: having no shots at all, only a few touches in the opposition box and, perhaps most damningly of all, only four completed passes in the entire attacking third of the pitch.
This was a side that looked like it was finally going to blink in the face of once again trying to keep up with the relentless winning pace being set by their two more seasoned campaigners in what is now without doubt a three-horse title race.
We should never have doubted them.
The game spun around entirely on a trio of Aston Villa substitutions just before the hour mark. Off went the ineffective Emi Buendia, the invisible Donyell Malen and John McGinn, who struggled with the pace of the game throughout but who made one vital contribution just before being withdrawn when sliding in to concede a corner and deny Garnacho a tap-in from Palmer’s low cross.
On came Ollie Watkins, who would score both goals, Amadou Onana and Jadon Sancho. The speed and totality of the turnaround was enough to make your head spin.
In the 10 minutes that followed, Villa not only pulled level through a – if we’re being honest – rather fortunate ricochet off Robert Sanchez’s initial save, but had five further attempts on goal, all of them forcing Sanchez into saves, while enjoying 78 per cent possession and more touches in the Chelsea box than they’d managed in the entire first half.
Yes, there was some good fortune about the goal. But the point is that Villa had already earned such fortune by buying themselves a lottery ticket. Watkins’ goal was not even the first clear chance he had in his first few minutes on the pitch.
And his header for a winner that had long attained a sense of inevitability was sure and true. Victory extends Villa’s current Premier League winning run to eight matches. It’s the longest winning run any team in the league has managed throughout 2025, a stat which is to our mind only improved by remembering the second longest winning run belongs to Wolves.
The sheer faith Villa retained in their proven ability to get out of any situation at any time on any ground will surely never have a sterner test than this. The first half was utterly miserable; the second entirely majestic.
They are a baffling team now achieving astonishing things and they don’t look like they’re remotely finished f*cking with everybody, either. Their trip to Arsenal to round out 2025 already looks like it could have vast repercussions for what 2026 looks like. You would rule absolutely nothing out at this stage.
As for Chelsea, they must just feel punch-drunk. The speed with which their full control of this game was whipped out from under them was dizzying and confusing.
It is neither a novel nor particularly interesting point to note that they really could do with a handful of older, more experienced players to help prevent this kind of incident. Chelsea blowing a winning position isn’t quite as frequent a sight as Villa exploiting a losing one, but nobody has now dropped more points this season when leading than Enzo Maresca’s callow side.
What was a few weeks ago a title fight is now a Champions League scrap with Liverpool and whoever else can hold themselves together for long enough. Heaven help us, that might even now be Man United.
But for Villa the opposite. The undignified squabbling over mere qualification for the Big Cup is beneath them now. Ten points beneath them.
They still trail two formidable opponents, but if there’s one thing clear about this Villa team it’s that this is not something they will allow to concern them.
Love this.
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I don’t know how to handle this. Total head loss.
Could be worse. Boxing Day (well, St Stephen's Day) 10 years ago Villa drew at home to West Ham. Check out this embarrassment...
Aston Villa are now winless in 17 Premier League games - only four teams have ever had a longer run in the division (Derby 32, Sunderland 26, Norwich 21 and Nottingham Forest 19 - QPR also had a run of 17).
From her "Lady Karen Brady" Twitter account, came the in-match missive "At Aston Villa...never seen a home team get SO excited about winning a corner before!"
can we have some quotes from Lady Brady now please
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Chelsea manager mentioning the ten point gap in his post match comments. He knows that was a must win, and they lost it! ;D
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We don’t want to get carried away, but one has to ask if what Aston Villa are doing is in fact some kind of dark magic, threatening the very fabric of existence and putting the entire universe at risk.
This 2-1 victory at Chelsea was Villa’s sixth win from behind this season. Nobody else has more than three. Six wins is as many of any kind as Newcastle or Spurs have fashioned all season. Villa’s points per game for the whole season is 2.17; that drops only as far as 2.00 for games where they fall behind. These are already absurd numbers
But remember, Villa didn’t register their first win until game six of the season. So the run is actually six wins from behind in their last 13 Premier League games. And you can make those numbers more ridiculous still, if you absolutely must: this is the fifth win from behind in their last six Premier League away games.
We therefore choose our next words very carefully, acknowledging this is a team that has won 4-3 at Brighton from 2-0 down and 3-2 at West Ham having trailed both 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half: this is the most absurd victory yet for Unai Emery’s title-race-bothering upstarts.
It is impossible to overstate just how one-sided the first half of this game was. Chelsea’s control was entire and absolute, leaving only two mysteries.
The first, more prosaic, mystery: how the only goal they had to show for it came off Joao Pedro’s backside as Emi Martinez decided to fight everyone rather than deal with a Reece James corner.
The second mystery? How on earth were Villa going to end up winning 2-1, as they surely would, after a first half like that? We would eventually get the solution to that one, at least.
Chelsea swarmed all over the visitors from the first whistle. Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto were proving near impossible to contain and even Alejandro Garnacho was having moments.
Villa, for their part, were offering less than nothing. Their first-half performance here really was as bad as we’ve seen from anyone, anywhere this season. Sure, Villa have spent the last few months gleefully confounding xG, but they went in to the half-time break here lucky to have 0.00 in their column while allowing 1.96 at the other end. To be fair, backside efforts from six inches out will presumably score highly with the boffins.
Villa have proved repeatedly that xG can go whistle as far as they’re concerned, but even their number-baiting doesn’t generally extend to the almost total numerical void that was their first half here: having no shots at all, only a few touches in the opposition box and, perhaps most damningly of all, only four completed passes in the entire attacking third of the pitch.
This was a side that looked like it was finally going to blink in the face of once again trying to keep up with the relentless winning pace being set by their two more seasoned campaigners in what is now without doubt a three-horse title race.
We should never have doubted them.
The game spun around entirely on a trio of Aston Villa substitutions just before the hour mark. Off went the ineffective Emi Buendia, the invisible Donyell Malen and John McGinn, who struggled with the pace of the game throughout but who made one vital contribution just before being withdrawn when sliding in to concede a corner and deny Garnacho a tap-in from Palmer’s low cross.
On came Ollie Watkins, who would score both goals, Amadou Onana and Jadon Sancho. The speed and totality of the turnaround was enough to make your head spin.
In the 10 minutes that followed, Villa not only pulled level through a – if we’re being honest – rather fortunate ricochet off Robert Sanchez’s initial save, but had five further attempts on goal, all of them forcing Sanchez into saves, while enjoying 78 per cent possession and more touches in the Chelsea box than they’d managed in the entire first half.
Yes, there was some good fortune about the goal. But the point is that Villa had already earned such fortune by buying themselves a lottery ticket. Watkins’ goal was not even the first clear chance he had in his first few minutes on the pitch.
And his header for a winner that had long attained a sense of inevitability was sure and true. Victory extends Villa’s current Premier League winning run to eight matches. It’s the longest winning run any team in the league has managed throughout 2025, a stat which is to our mind only improved by remembering the second longest winning run belongs to Wolves.
The sheer faith Villa retained in their proven ability to get out of any situation at any time on any ground will surely never have a sterner test than this. The first half was utterly miserable; the second entirely majestic.
They are a baffling team now achieving astonishing things and they don’t look like they’re remotely finished f*cking with everybody, either. Their trip to Arsenal to round out 2025 already looks like it could have vast repercussions for what 2026 looks like. You would rule absolutely nothing out at this stage.
As for Chelsea, they must just feel punch-drunk. The speed with which their full control of this game was whipped out from under them was dizzying and confusing.
It is neither a novel nor particularly interesting point to note that they really could do with a handful of older, more experienced players to help prevent this kind of incident. Chelsea blowing a winning position isn’t quite as frequent a sight as Villa exploiting a losing one, but nobody has now dropped more points this season when leading than Enzo Maresca’s callow side.
What was a few weeks ago a title fight is now a Champions League scrap with Liverpool and whoever else can hold themselves together for long enough. Heaven help us, that might even now be Man United.
But for Villa the opposite. The undignified squabbling over mere qualification for the Big Cup is beneath them now. Ten points beneath them.
They still trail two formidable opponents, but if there’s one thing clear about this Villa team it’s that this is not something they will allow to concern them.
Love this.
Yep, good fun. Thanks Dave.
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Gotta love it
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1228927719123643
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Unexpected, wonderful, stupendous, marvellous. UTFV
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Couple of things to say - main thing is WHAT a player Amadou Onana is turning into. Completely changed the dynamic of the game (along with Ollie and Sancho). His reading of the game to intercept the ball for our first goal was so intelligent - cut the passing lane they'd been using all game to get through our press. The combination of physicality and technique (similar to Rogers, albeit in a diff position) is pretty unique - cheat code of a footballer. 23 years old!! 50m a snip when you look at the cost of elite CMs around the league nowadays.
He also clearly drives the team spirit of this side along with McGinn and the veterans - future captain material if we keep hold of him IMO.
Second - we have to soak up every second of this team while we're on this amazing run... the best and most resilient and together team Unai has built thus far - we're living in a golden era. Just enjoy it everyone!! So so happy.
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
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Robbie Mustoe has nailed the masterplan
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
2 fouls, 2 bookings for our lads to be suspended.
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I’m not one for analysis but fuck me Villa are so good and I love it!
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Robbie Mustoe has nailed the masterplan
He's always a good pundit, but yeah, excellent analysis... it's the same with the long shots.
If you think anything this team does is by accident you clearly don't understand Emery as a manager. Total genius.
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Yep. But Sky kept the camera on our boy. There's a thing
That's because he's the superstar.
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I just love Unai’s attitude. We just have to continue to believe in him.
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
2 fouls, 2 bookings for our lads to be suspended.
Absolutely damning stat about the refereeing performance.
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
2 fouls, 2 bookings for our lads to be suspended.
Absolutely damning stat about the refereeing performance.
I thought they were both legitimate bookings to be honest…,,I’ll get my coat obviously
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
2 fouls, 2 bookings for our lads to be suspended.
Absolutely damning stat about the refereeing performance.
If true....... although Cash was booked in the first half and I believe Rogers was booked when the ball was dead so wasn't a foul.
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Rogers was booked for being held, that was a nonsense.
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
This is far better than 81/82. The level of consistency these guys are playing at is far better.
Difference is that 81/82 won trophies and were v exciting to watch. Hopefully Unai can emulate that
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Second half statistics:
https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614 (https://x.com/KevHughesie/status/2005012124649574614)
2 fouls, 2 bookings for our lads to be suspended.
Absolutely damning stat about the refereeing performance.
I thought they were both legitimate bookings to be honest…,,I’ll get my coat obviously
Yes, but if the same treatment for similar or worse transgressions had been handed out to Chelsea, I would have no problem.
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Kamara and Cash got fair-enough bookings - Rogers' was weapons grade bullshit.
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Agree the Rogers one was weird, but the referee seemed to be regularly having pre booking conversations with him for a while and to be dair he booked James as well. There just seem to some conspiracies that Kamara and Cash were booked to purposely take them out of the Arsenal game. I just thought they were both bookable fouls.
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1-1 goal, it's rather lovely
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1564522318021097
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Chelsea manager mentioning the ten point gap in his post match comments. He knows that was a must win, and they lost it! ;D
The Chelsea manager is an ungracious c unt.
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We have a genius at the helm and a very special and tight knit squad.
A lot of the in match comments are a little excitable.
Sit back and relax.
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Chelsea manager mentioning the ten point gap in his post match comments. He knows that was a must win, and they lost it! ;D
The Chelsea manager is an ungracious c unt.
His mum must've shortchanged him on the spaghiett' a vongoro portions on Xmas Eve.
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This run is mad. We're witnessing something not seen in 111 years. I can't believe how bad we were first half but somehow we still managed to turn it round. What a manager, what a team.
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First half we were bad but the final thirty minutes we were majestic, which was all it took.
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Agree the Rogers one was weird, but the referee seemed to be regularly having pre booking conversations with him for a while and to be dair he booked James as well. There just seem to some conspiracies that Kamara and Cash were booked to purposely take them out of the Arsenal game. I just thought they were both bookable fouls.
Cash one was a booking, but could've been a warning, the Kamara one was no different to a number of other challenges in the game that he let go with just a free kick.
It was the first foul we'd made for nearly half an hour and it was the only foul Kamara made in the game, given how many times he warned Caicedo and Enzo I think it was harsh to go straight to the yellow for it. Between them those 2 committed more fouls than our whole team and 5-6 of the 10 they clocked up were on the level of the Kamara one, for me.
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Watched the game on TV , watched the highlights online , watched MOTD and just watched the last scene from The Unforgiven... bloody marvellous . Ollie MOTM but the other two subs were just as influential , if that makes sense.
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I’m not quite old enough to remember the atmosphere around the club in 81 and 82 but l post that surely this is our apex.
This is far better than 81/82. The level of consistency these guys are playing at is far better.
Problem is 2 other teams are better than Ipswich
No the problem is one of them have a squad spend of around a Billion £'s the other have spent even more but are outright cheats who play every week with zero punishment
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Two massively contrasting use of substitutes from both benches today.
Incredible run continues, just remarkable. Incredible coaching, resilience and spirit.
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Kamara and Cash got fair-enough bookings - Rogers' was weapons grade bullshit.
I've been banging on about the shenanigans during corner kicks and free kicks near the area for many years. Holding, blocking, pushing, shoving, standing in front of the GK all seem to be allowed.
At one time, the back line could all step out, but not anymore.
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Another win I'm loving this journey we are on.
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Kamara and Cash got fair-enough bookings - Rogers' was weapons grade bullshit.
I've been banging on about the shenanigans during corner kicks and free kicks near the area for many years. Holding, blocking, pushing, shoving, standing in front of the GK all seem to be allowed.
At one time, the back line could all step out, but not anymore.
Yep, and the laws and all the cameras protect them.
It's a million miles away but I was a goalkeeper from a child up to under-18s, and you get pretty roughed up at set pieces - 'accidental' stamps on the feet or studs raking down the legs, elbows or even punches in the ribs, deliberate hits so you land in a way that risks injury, kicks to the body and head when you already have the ball in your hands.
We were told to 'adjust' and, when you identify a dirty player, 'give as good as you get'.
In the same situation but at amateur junior level, if I was in goal, somebody blocking me the way that Chelsea lad today was blocking Emi for their goal; he would've had an 'accidental' knee in the kidney before the ball even reached the box.
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The problem I have is that those types of goals would be disallowed in European competitions and the Premier League should be consistent with that.
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It should have been disallowed for being so aesthetically unsatisfying, as well as for being against us.
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Another win I'm loving this journey we are on.
It’s incredible Darren, it’s like we’ve all had a wish and we’ve all wished the same …that Aston Villa would win every game for ever and ever.
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The “Michael Van Gerwen” chant was funny last night. Almost felt sorry for the bloke. Almost
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Though the first half was as poor as I've seen us all season, I don't think enough credit has been given to Konsa and Lindelof, I lost count of the number of times they were clearing balls going into our box and Chelesa for all their dominance didn't create that many chances.
Great to see Ollie back to his and Onana and Sancho were also superb, the last 30 minutes we tore Chelsea apart.
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Though the first half was as poor as I've seen us all season, I don't think enough credit has been given to Konsa and Lindelof, I lost count of the number of times they were clearing balls going into our box and Chelesa for all their dominance didn't create that many chances.
Great to see Ollie back to his and Onana and Sancho were also superb, the last 30 minutes we tore Chelsea apart.
They had three things on target in the end which I think includes the goal, Emi's stop from Pedro first half and the Reece James cross-shot.
As for us, we had 8 shots on target, all in that last 30 mins I believe although Ollies first goal counts as two of them.
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Been on a Chelsea forum for a lovely bit of schadenfreude. They don't like Maresca!
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Been on a Chelsea forum for a lovely bit of schadenfreude. They don't like Maresca!
Neither do I. He’s an ungracious, sour, miserable, c unt.
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It should have been disallowed for being so aesthetically unsatisfying, as well as for being against us.
Ugly as the son (sic), when he falls to the floor.
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Though the first half was as poor as I've seen us all season, I don't think enough credit has been given to Konsa and Lindelof, I lost count of the number of times they were clearing balls going into our box and Chelesa for all their dominance didn't create that many chances.
Great to see Ollie back to his and Onana and Sancho were also superb, the last 30 minutes we tore Chelsea apart.
Konsa and Lindelof were immense. Chelsea rarely got in behind and they were there to mop up most through the middle
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We are like a boxer, at his peak taking an all sorts of newcomers.
We are prepared and able to put up our guard, take all sorts of body shots and glancing blows to the head for 5 rounds without going down.
Then in the 6th round, we decide, ‘ok, fun’s over, time to go to work’.
A few jabs, a couple of uppercuts to soften them up, then bang !! we hit them with the knockout blows out of nowhere before nonchalantly strolling out of the ring asking what all the fuss was about.
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As I said to my viewing companion, for all their possession and ability to pin us right back on the edge of our own area throughout the first half, Emi didn't really have a lot to do. I did wonder, for their goal, if Emi wouldn't be better off by standing behind the goal line, and just not 'engaging' with the blocker(s) until James is much closer to striking the ball, his attention wandered. But saying that, I dont think anyone covered themselves in glory, we just seemed to get bullied on that play.
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Rope-a-dope city. Chelsea absolutely shell shocked
I thought exactly this.
It was the football equivalent of Ali’s ‘rope a dope’ knockout of Foreman.
I looked at the shot stats just before we scored. It was something like 14-5 vrs 3-1 by the end of the game it was around 15-5 vrs 21-8. That’s one heck of a turnaround.
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I am almost certain Unai Emery deliberately started the game with a weaker XI. He knew, with absolute certainty, that we would not be able to keep up our intensity in the second half.
And that brings us to our biggest problem: our inability to finish a game when we have it by the throat. 😒
We keep toiling and playing with this naive idea that a team like Aston Villa will just roll over and respect us. Lol
I said it before the game. You do not respect this type of opponent, because they will not respect you back. Yes, the referee was abysmal, and the denied penalty was a clear game-changer, but that cannot be the excuse for such a lackadaisical and spineless performance.
If I were Maresca, I would sit every single one of those boys down and read them the riot act. 😑
My clear warning would be: if you keep serving up these shameful, high-school-level performances, you will be bundled out in January. Just look at the catalogue of chances we missed.
And the subs?? 😭😭
The difference in quality between what Unai could bring off his bench and what we had was night and day.
Quality, experienced players matter in the PL. It is as simple as that. I can only hope our SD's are taking note and not trying to breathe hard on Maresca's neck.
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I think that is a very harsh judgement on the game, not many teams do to us what they did for 60 mins, they were very good. And then we came into it and won.
What penalty is he on about, was there a clear one for them?
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Absolutely magnificent last 30 minutes, when we eventually turned up they couldn't live with us...
You say that, but we obviously turned up in some way otherwise they’d have been out of sight.
Sometimes you have to credit the opponent for pushing us back. When that happens we do have to hold firm, which we’ve been doing.
Chelsea were very good, we just had to soak up the pressure and bide our time. Which we did perfectly.
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Though the first half was as poor as I've seen us all season, I don't think enough credit has been given to Konsa and Lindelof, I lost count of the number of times they were clearing balls going into our box and Chelesa for all their dominance didn't create that many chances.
Great to see Ollie back to his and Onana and Sancho were also superb, the last 30 minutes we tore Chelsea apart.
That’s not us being poor, mate, it’s Chelsea being good
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I assume he means the hand ball by Maatsen. It went to VAR and was dismissed almost immediately.
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I missed the start of the second half so didn't see the potential pen until MOTD this morning. I must admit I'd have been pissed off if it hadn't been given for us.
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Robbie Mustoe has nailed the masterplan
He's always a good pundit, but yeah, excellent analysis... it's the same with the long shots.
If you think anything this team does is by accident you clearly don't understand Emery as a manager. Total genius.
I was watching on that feed, Mustoe called it at half time when everyone else was crawling up Chelsea's arse.
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There was a time if we went one down we knew we were screwed. Amazing!
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Robbie Mustoe has nailed the masterplan
Complete twaddle I reckon. The only thing missing from Chelsea's performance in the first 60 mins was the second goal. Back four aside we were simply miles off it, our midfield two and Malen in particular were hopeless. But once we equalised they collapsed completely.
I wasn't complaining about the starting X1 but I thought Buendia and Rogers should have swapped positions.
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I have to say, this back five have played really well, against very credible opposition, at a time when we were definitely missing Torres: Lindelof has defied my expectation of him, and Konsa seems to have matured some more. Maatsen's defending has improved immeasurably, and Cash has become a very accomplished right-back.
We are very lucky that Emery has found a way to secure the back line: with the double-pivot of Kamar and Onana we have a very solid look - lots to be optimistic about. I just hope that we can bring in one or two reinforcements in January to build on the strong platform, without upsetting the balance of the squad by importing any inflated egos.
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Robbie Mustoe has nailed the masterplan
Complete twaddle I reckon. The only thing missing from Chelsea's performance in the first 60 mins was the second goal. Back four aside we were simply miles off it, our midfield two and Malen in particular were hopeless. But once we equalised they collapsed completely.
I wasn't complaining about the starting X1 but I thought Buendia and Rogers should have swapped positions.
I agree on the Buendia/Rogers positions, it just did not work.
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Quick shout out to macphee for his bit of timewasting shithousery towards the end. Well earned yellow
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
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I assume he means the hand ball by Maatsen. It went to VAR and was dismissed almost immediately.
I think it was one of those where if he had given it on the pitch it wouldn't have been overturned, so glad common sense prevailed.
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
Like with Man Utd the other week, feels like when you let your kids get on top in a play fight for a bit and they're throwing everything into it with little or no effect.
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I assume he means the hand ball by Maatsen. It went to VAR and was dismissed almost immediately.
I think it was one of those where if he had given it on the pitch it wouldn't have been overturned, so glad common sense prevailed.
Maatsen's arm was up to fend off Neto. Neto, if he had got to the ball first, almost-certainly would not have been able to do anything with it because of the angle. It was nothing, and anyone claiming they were robbed of a pen are slightly deluded.
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Also, to the genius managers we've faced in the last few weeks, how many videos have you watched where slinging crosses into our box (except from corners it would seem) has any material effect?
It doesn't work, and just because you don't a lot doesn't mean you've played 'well'.
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
Watching it back this morning, Enzo will be disappointed to put that shot wide early in the game when given far too much space. Martinez did make one good save from Pedro. McGinn saved a tap in and the penalty shout with Maatsen was probably 50/50. Goal was piss poor, Martinez far too soft and he was terrible again for another cross later in the game that we were lucky to get away with. Our back 4 did incredibly well to keep us in the game with no protection in front of them and Martinez jumpy behind them.
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Also, to the genius managers we've faced in the last few weeks, how many videos have you watched where slinging crosses into our box (except from corners it would seem) has any material effect?
It doesn't work, and just because you don't a lot doesn't mean you've played 'well'.
One of the most noticeable things about the way we play. We make very, very few crosses into the box.
I’m sure I read somewhere that Unai believes crosses are wasted passes.
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
That was my feeling honestly. We absolutely failed at the 'getting out' bit of the gameplan, but when the pundits afterwards were banging on about how they should've been 3-4 up, how they should've taken their chances, I was thinking...what chances? The Fernandez shot is the only one that should've been on target, and even that looked to be covered by Emi to me.
They absolutely dominated us in the midfield, but then Emery made the changes and we were the motor in the engine of the game.They scored a lucky goal they earned with a good delivery, we scored a lucky goal we earned with a good move and throughball. Actually we deconstructed their goal like an insufferable restaurant, scoring with a bit of make-your-own-luck and then a set-piece.
We just looked more grown-up out there, more mature, with more belief, more knowhow. We've gone Thanos-mode, inevitable, for eleven games now. We'd be 16th in the league on comeback wins alone, and we keep doing it with different heroes depending on the game, Watkins AND Malen, Buendia AND Onana and even Sancho (!), but the common denominator is the manager, the best in the world, about whom I note the likes of Mustoe and Jamie Redknapp are talking about with barely disguised awe, like he's literally Dumbledore.
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Personally I think corners are out of control now and it's either the wild west allowed or no one can breathe on each other depending on what ref you get. It's a bit shit.
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
That was my feeling honestly. We absolutely failed at the 'getting out' bit of the gameplan, but when the pundits afterwards were banging on about how they should've been 3-4 up, how they should've taken their chances, I was thinking...what chances? The Fernandez shot is the only one that should've been on target, and even that looked to be covered by Emi to me.
They absolutely dominated us in the midfield, but then Emery made the changes and we were the motor in the engine of the game.They scored a lucky goal they earned with a good delivery, we scored a lucky goal we earned with a good move and throughball. Actually we deconstructed their goal like an insufferable restaurant, scoring with a bit of make-your-own-luck and then a set-piece.
We just looked more grown-up out there, more mature, with more belief, more knowhow. We've gone Thanos-mode, inevitable, for eleven games now. We'd be 16th in the league on comeback wins alone, and we keep doing it with different heroes depending on the game, Watkins AND Malen, Buendia AND Onana and even Sancho (!), but the common denominator is the manager, the best in the world, about whom I note the likes of Mustoe and Jamie Redknapp are talking about with barely disguised awe, like he's literally Dumbledore.
There was for years, despite the occasional close run game where we huffed and puffed a bit harder, a feeling when playing Mourinho's Chelsea or Wenger's Arsenal for example that we weren't really even playing the same sport.
It feels that way with us now with us coming up against these 'bright young thing' managers that are just hopelessly out of their depth against Unai.
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Also, to the genius managers we've faced in the last few weeks, how many videos have you watched where slinging crosses into our box (except from corners it would seem) has any material effect?
It doesn't work, and just because you don't a lot doesn't mean you've played 'well'.
One of the most noticeable things about the way we play. We make very, very few crosses into the box.
I’m sure I read somewhere that Unai believes crosses are wasted passes.
Could have done with Maatsen crossing that one in the second half rather than taking on the shot!
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We do cross, but it's usually from inside the box after we've worked a way in behind, none of this Diego Dalot wafting endless balls into Emi's hands bollocks.
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I think the lad from Villa on Tour is trying to grow a moustache. There is something singularly undignified about seeing someone trying to grow facial hair. Unless it turns up every morning fully formed like it does with me, it's not for you.
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A mention has to be made for SJM cutting out that cross at the back post, if he doesn't do that our run probably ends.
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There was for years, despite the occasional close run game where we huffed and puffed a bit harder, a feeling when playing Mourinho's Chelsea or Wenger's Arsenal for example that we weren't really even playing the same sport.
It feels that way with us now with us coming up against these 'bright young thing' managers that are just hopelessly out of their depth against Unai.
That's it Lee. That's how I felt in our last two wins against manu and Chelsea. These two a bit like us in the past decent teams, made huge effort and controlled the game for large periods but ultimately succumbed to the more astute and competent set of tactics and players. Got lot of often patronising praise but ended up with fuck all.
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I think the lad from Villa on Tour is trying to grow a moustache. There is something singularly undignified about seeing someone trying to grow facial hair. Unless it turns up every morning fully formed like it does with me, it's not for you.
Yes SE I often laugh at these unfortunate masses. They are obviously not blessed, full of testosterone, like you and me ;D
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I think the lad from Villa on Tour is trying to grow a moustache. There is something singularly undignified about seeing someone trying to grow facial hair. Unless it turns up every morning fully formed like it does with me, it's not for you.
As someone further along the evolutionary scale than yourself I can only agree, falls into the same shame filled path of pretending theres enough hair still on the top of your head to compose a 'style'
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I think the lad from Villa on Tour is trying to grow a moustache. There is something singularly undignified about seeing someone trying to grow facial hair. Unless it turns up every morning fully formed like it does with me, it's not for you.
As someone further along the evolutionary scale than yourself I can only agree, falls into the same shame filled path of pretending theres enough hair still on the top of your head to compose a 'style'
Steady Lee. There are real human feelings behind these posts.
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There's always a place for honest dialogue.
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Maybe the child in me but this does make me laugh!
https://x.com/stokeyyg2/status/2005226152991072542?s=46&t=1A7xfLJNUgdI6215TY6YlA
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Also, to the genius managers we've faced in the last few weeks, how many videos have you watched where slinging crosses into our box (except from corners it would seem) has any material effect?
It doesn't work, and just because you don't a lot doesn't mean you've played 'well'.
One of the most noticeable things about the way we play. We make very, very few crosses into the box.
I’m sure I read somewhere that Unai believes crosses are wasted passes.
Could have done with Maatsen crossing that one in the second half rather than taking on the shot!
And if he had done and we hadn’t scored you’d be pinging him for not taking the shot.
It’s great he had the confidence to take it. It was hit with some power so ended up a decent save
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A mention has to be made for SJM cutting out that cross at the back post, if he doesn't do that our run probably ends.
Nahh, Emi saves it 😉
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Maybe the child in me but this does make me laugh!
https://x.com/stokeyyg2/status/2005226152991072542?s=46&t=1A7xfLJNUgdI6215TY6YlA
It was the low key nonchalance that had me chuckling.
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Chelsea are investigating after a bottle was thrown towards the Aston Villa bench following their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
After the full-time whistle, an open plastic bottle was directed at Villa's celebrating bench, splashing staff and players with a liquid that appeared to be water.
One member of staff pointed towards the area from which the bottle came, which seemed to be a section containing both Chelsea fans and staff.
It remains unclear who was responsible. Chelsea have launched an investigation but have not commented officially at this stage.
It is also unclear whether referee Stuart Attwell and his officials saw the incident or whether it will be included in his report. BBC Sport has contacted the Football Association for comment.
Villa substitute Ollie Watkins scored twice to overturn Joao Pedro's first-half opener for Chelsea.
Unai Emery's side have now equalled a club record of 11 consecutive wins in all competitions and sit three points behind league leaders Arsenal in third. Chelsea are fifth before Sunday's games.
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Classless as ever.
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Chelsea are investigating after a bottle was thrown towards the Aston Villa bench following their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
After the full-time whistle, an open plastic bottle was directed at Villa's celebrating bench, splashing staff and players with a liquid that appeared to be water.
One member of staff pointed towards the area from which the bottle came, which seemed to be a section containing both Chelsea fans and staff.
It remains unclear who was responsible. Chelsea have launched an investigation but have not commented officially at this stage.
It is also unclear whether referee Stuart Attwell and his officials saw the incident or whether it will be included in his report. BBC Sport has contacted the Football Association for comment.
Villa substitute Ollie Watkins scored twice to overturn Joao Pedro's first-half opener for Chelsea.
Unai Emery's side have now equalled a club record of 11 consecutive wins in all competitions and sit three points behind league leaders Arsenal in third. Chelsea are fifth before Sunday's games.
...a shame Chelsea didn't show a bit more bottle in the last 30 mins...
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Did they have any chances after our equaliser? Can't remember any.
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Did they have any chances after our equaliser? Can't remember any.
Nope. Lots of huffing and puffing and toys being thrown out of prams
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Also, enjoyed this quote from their forum:
"We've been in trouble since the UK government decided to score political points using Roman to do it."
The poor little lambs, only able to spend a billion or so a year. They just cannot get a break.
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I don’t know how to handle this. Total head loss.
Could be worse. Boxing Day (well, St Stephen's Day) 10 years ago Villa drew at home to West Ham. Check out this embarrassment...
Aston Villa are now winless in 17 Premier League games - only four teams have ever had a longer run in the division (Derby 32, Sunderland 26, Norwich 21 and Nottingham Forest 19 - QPR also had a run of 17).
From her "Lady Karen Brady" Twitter account, came the in-match missive "At Aston Villa...never seen a home team get SO excited about winning a corner before!"
West Ham support would be quite happy with their team getting a corner now and again
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
That was my feeling honestly. We absolutely failed at the 'getting out' bit of the gameplan, but when the pundits afterwards were banging on about how they should've been 3-4 up, how they should've taken their chances, I was thinking...what chances? The Fernandez shot is the only one that should've been on target, and even that looked to be covered by Emi to me.
They absolutely dominated us in the midfield, but then Emery made the changes and we were the motor in the engine of the game.They scored a lucky goal they earned with a good delivery, we scored a lucky goal we earned with a good move and throughball. Actually we deconstructed their goal like an insufferable restaurant, scoring with a bit of make-your-own-luck and then a set-piece.
We just looked more grown-up out there, more mature, with more belief, more knowhow. We've gone Thanos-mode, inevitable, for eleven games now. We'd be 16th in the league on comeback wins alone, and we keep doing it with different heroes depending on the game, Watkins AND Malen, Buendia AND Onana and even Sancho (!), but the common denominator is the manager, the best in the world, about whom I note the likes of Mustoe and Jamie Redknapp are talking about with barely disguised awe, like he's literally Dumbledore.
I agree completely with you both and I think I posted something similar yesterday, despite us being really poor with the ball in the first half I think the freak goal was the only thing that emery would've been upset about, aside from that we largely held them at arms length and let them punch themselves out, and it's not a fluke, we've done it over and over again this season, just look at the times we've taken the lead in away games:
Yesterday 84th minute
West Ham 79th minute
Brighton 60th minute
Leeds 75th minute
Spurs 77th minute
We sit in, keep our shape and let teams run themselves into the ground and then we make subs and step up a level just when the cracks appear. It's not an accident or lucky, you don't do it over and over again in that case, this is tactical and is clearly something we've worked out to address our poor away form last year. I find it funny that pretty much everyone acknowledges that Emery is a top manager but many seem reluctant to accept that tactics which allow us to dominate the last half hour of games are a result of that genius.
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For as poor as we were for the first half, and it was bad. Overrun in midfield, Sideshow Bob stepping in to congest and outnumber, pulling wide to stretch etc...I didn't feel we were under too much threat. Maybe it the perspective from being on top of the goal but I didn't feel Martinez made a save of note and the goal was really poor.
Absolutely battered them when the subs came on and 2-1 flattered them.
That was my feeling honestly. We absolutely failed at the 'getting out' bit of the gameplan, but when the pundits afterwards were banging on about how they should've been 3-4 up, how they should've taken their chances, I was thinking...what chances? The Fernandez shot is the only one that should've been on target, and even that looked to be covered by Emi to me.
They absolutely dominated us in the midfield, but then Emery made the changes and we were the motor in the engine of the game.They scored a lucky goal they earned with a good delivery, we scored a lucky goal we earned with a good move and throughball. Actually we deconstructed their goal like an insufferable restaurant, scoring with a bit of make-your-own-luck and then a set-piece.
We just looked more grown-up out there, more mature, with more belief, more knowhow. We've gone Thanos-mode, inevitable, for eleven games now. We'd be 16th in the league on comeback wins alone, and we keep doing it with different heroes depending on the game, Watkins AND Malen, Buendia AND Onana and even Sancho (!), but the common denominator is the manager, the best in the world, about whom I note the likes of Mustoe and Jamie Redknapp are talking about with barely disguised awe, like he's literally Dumbledore.
I agree completely with you both and I think I posted something similar yesterday, despite us being really poor with the ball in the first half I think the freak goal was the only thing that emery would've been upset about, aside from that we largely held them at arms length and let them punch themselves out, and it's not a fluke, we've done it over and over again this season, just look at the times we've taken the lead in away games:
Yesterday 84th minute
West Ham 79th minute
Brighton 60th minute
Leeds 75th minute
Spurs 77th minute
We sit in, keep our shape and let teams run themselves into the ground and then we make subs and step up a level just when the cracks appear. It's not an accident or lucky, you don't do it over and over again in that case, this is tactical and is clearly something we've worked out to address our poor away form last year. I find it funny that pretty much everyone acknowledges that Emery is a top manager but many seem reluctant to accept that tactics which allow us to dominate the last half hour of games are a result of that genius.
This is something I’ve mentioned a couple of times on here, and previously.
Guys saying how poor we’re playing, or we’re sh!t.
This obviously isn’t the case as it appears to be pretty consistent in our play
Chelsea are a very good side, so we have to give them some credit for pushing us, but at the same time you have to credit our guys for keeping them out. A poor side wouldn’t have managed that.
They had all that possession (70%?) 14 shots 2 on target and only one goal? That’s not us being poor, that’s us containing them and controlling the game
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Anybody want the lottery numbers for next week just drop me a DM.
Watkins off the bench to score the winner.
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Well done.
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Well done.
Cheers, Olaf. Doesn't happen very often but as soon as I saw the team sheet, I could see the future. I almost started doubting my divine intervention moment in the first half but remembered we have Uncle Unai and his own divine intervention powers.
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Just got my voice back.
fantástica....
The subs was a masterstroke that only the basque magical can do. Ollie turned into pro Lee Majors , Sancho looked Dortmund vibe and Onana made the 50 million look like pennies , absolute beautiful.
Lindelof was Mellberg-esqe and has suprised me since being Claret and Blue . Youri went up a level when his belgium smurf turned up and Konsa was Konsa , international class.
There was few that was off but fuck it ... 3 pts and beat those c.....s
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Superbly summed up JP ;D
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Well done.
Well Rudy can't fail.
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An Emery masterclass. Let them run like fuck for 60 mins & then bring on the big boys to win the game.
A brilliant result & 30 mins of elite football.
That's it isn't it? I fucking love that man.
The great bit for me is that Back when Chelsea were really good they did exactly this to us. I remember Terry giving a interview after they'd beat us under MON. We knew they'd tire after 60 minutes so just needed to sit tight and wait them out. The Team looked exactly like they knew this today. Let then run around like lunatics for an hour keep in touch then go at em. We're an Elite team now, it's hard to get used to!
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The stats that came up during the match suggested that our players had covered a greater distance and had more sprints than them in the first half - not sure this theory of letting them run around us and tire out rings true.
Maybe subduing the home fans is a bigger factor.
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An Emery masterclass. Let them run like fuck for 60 mins & then bring on the big boys to win the game.
A brilliant result & 30 mins of elite football.
That's it isn't it? I fucking love that man.
It's rope a dope football I tell ya.
The great bit for me is that Back when Chelsea were really good they did exactly this to us. I remember Terry giving a interview after they'd beat us under MON. We knew they'd tire after 60 minutes so just needed to sit tight and wait them out. The Team looked exactly like they knew this today. Let then run around like lunatics for an hour keep in touch then go at em. We're an Elite team now, it's hard to get used to!
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The stats that came up during the match suggested that our players had covered a greater distance and had more sprints than them in the first half - not sure this theory of letting them run around us and tire out rings true.
Maybe subduing the home fans is a bigger factor.
Subduing the Chelsea fans? People in comas make more noise. Are Chelsea fans under some kind of embargo because all I could hear for 95 minutes was the Villa fans.
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What's funny is everyone's now saying we do the rope-a-dope agianst everyone, but it's not true - against Man City and Arsenal at home we got at them from the first. Just depends what the game demands. And exactly how Unai works out which game demands what is a fucking mystery to everyone except him.
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What's funny is everyone' is now saying we do the rope-a-dope agianst everyone, but it's not true - against Man City and Arsenal at home we got at them from the first. Just depends what the game demands. And exactly how Unai works out which game demands what is a fucking mystery to everyone except him.
It's quite possibly the most efficient title challenge of all time.
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Large chunks of the game can be determined by a few stray passes, some dodgy ref calls and a bit of luck.
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An Emery masterclass. Let them run like fuck for 60 mins & then bring on the big boys to win the game.
A brilliant result & 30 mins of elite football.
That's it isn't it? I fucking love that man.
The great bit for me is that Back when Chelsea were really good they did exactly this to us. I remember Terry giving a interview after they'd beat us under MON. We knew they'd tire after 60 minutes so just needed to sit tight and wait them out. The Team looked exactly like they knew this today. Let then run around like lunatics for an hour keep in touch then go at em. We're an Elite team now, it's hard to get used to!
I thought of that too. FA Cup Semi in 2010. Ballack mishit a shot to Drogba, 2 yards out.
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What's funny is everyone' is now saying we do the rope-a-dope agianst everyone, but it's not true - against Man City and Arsenal at home we got at them from the first. Just depends what the game demands. And exactly how Unai works out which game demands what is a fucking mystery to everyone except him.
It's quite possibly the most efficient title challenge of all time.
Verona 1984'/85 ftw
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Great view of the away section
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=885869047463066
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What's funny is everyone' is now saying we do the rope-a-dope agianst everyone, but it's not true - against Man City and Arsenal at home we got at them from the first. Just depends what the game demands. And exactly how Unai works out which game demands what is a fucking mystery to everyone except him.
It's quite possibly the most efficient title challenge of all time.
Verona 1984'/85 ftw
Leicester's too. Keep it very tight with Kante orchestrating and eventually Vardy gets a chance. Which he scored from.