Aston Villa stunned Chelsea 0-1 at Stamford Bridge Stadium on Sunday to compound the Blues’ miserable start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
The defeat has condemned Chelsea to the 14th position on the league table with five points from six matches, the worst in decades.
Ollie Watkins scored the only goal of the match at Stamford Bridge.
The opening minutes of the first-half saw Chelsea with most of the possession as Moises Caicedo had an early chance from outside of the box after Nicolas Jackson won the ball off Douglas Luiz, but the low shot was an easy save for Emiliano Martinez.
Chelsea thought they had broken the deadlock moments before half-time after a header from Axel Disasi, but the flag immediately went up for offside after Disasi mistimed his run from Raheem Sterling’s cross, a decision which VAR quickly confirmed.
The hosts began the second-half quickly, but their joy in Villa’s half was quickly dampened after Malo Gusto’s studs-up tackle on Digne resulted in a sending-off. Referee Jarred Gillett had initially given him a yellow, but after a VAR check at the monitor, the card was upgraded to a red.
Villa used their numerical advantage to break the deadlock after Watkins surged into the box during a counter-attack. Defender Levi Colwill managed to block his first attempt, but Watkins was able to react quickly to finish his second attempt from a tight angle.