Chelsea’s terrible start to the Premier League season continued as Aston Villa won 1-0 against the 10-man Blues thanks to Ollie Watkins’ strike.
Chelsea have now gone three Premier League games without a win or a goal.
It is the first time Villa have beaten Chelsea in consecutive league meetings in 30 years, while Mauricio Pochettino’s team has had their poorest start to a top-flight season after six games since 1978/79.
Chelsea dominated possession in the first few minutes of the game.
Moises Caicedo had an early chance from beyond the box after Nicolas Jackson won the ball from Douglas Luiz, but Emiliano Martinez easily saved the low attempt.
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Aston Villa surged into the half, as Lucas Digne’s volley from a corner forced a fine save from Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea thought they had broken the deadlock with a header from Axel Disasi just before halftime, but the flag was raised for offside when Disasi mistimed his run from Raheem Sterling’s cross, a judgment that VAR promptly confirmed.
The hosts started the second half brightly, but their delight in Villa’s half was swiftly dampened when Malo Gusto was sent out for a studs-up tackle on Digne. Referee Jarred Gillett gave him a yellow card at first, but following a VAR check on the monitor, the card was raised to a red.
After Watkins sprinted into the area after a counter-attack, Villa exploited their numerical advantage to break the deadlock. Defender Levi Colwill was able to stop his initial attempt, but Watkins was able to react fast and finish from a tight angle on his second attempt.
Villa go up to sixth place in the rankings, while Chelsea slump to 14th, marking their worst start to a top-flight season after six games.