Marco Asensio was the two-goal hero as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park.
The Spaniard, on-loan from Paris Saint-Germain, netted a superb brace to cancel out Enzo Fernandez’s 12th-minute opener, and both his strikes were set up by fellow January arrival Marcus Rashford, who was introduced as a half-time substitute by Unai Emery.
Villa started the game lackadaisically, with the visitors, sporting a new 4-3-3 shape that included captain and natural right-back Reece James in a midfield position, taking control of the early exchanges.
James’ move into midfield proved to be a tactical masterstroke from Enzo Maresca, who was forced to tamper with his line-up due to the injury to right-winger Noni Madueke. James’ midfield berth allowed Fernandez greater freedom to maraud forward and add numbers to the Chelsea attack, and his late box-crash to turn home Pedro Neto’s cutback was a worthy reward for The Blues’ start.
However, the pendulum swung at the interval, as Emery turned to Rashford to change the game.
The on-loan Manchester United forward did just that, laying on two assists for Asensio. The first stemmed from his willingness to get to the byline and chance a cross, which Asensio bundled in just shy of the hour.
The goal was initially ruled out for an offside flag against Rashford, but the VAR Paul Tierney overruled the on-field decision. Cue delirium from the Holte End.
The second – and winning – goal, scored in the 89th minute, came from Rashford’s quick thinking, taking a corner short to Youri Tielemans, before firing a delivery into the middle. He picked out Asensio once more, and the Spaniard’s improvised finish squirmed beyond Filip Jorgensen and span over the line to give Villa three points in the race for Europe. Â