Chelsea slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
Premier League
Result: Chelsea 0-2 Aston Villa
Date: 01 April 2023
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Graham Potter made three changes for the Blues, with Mykhailo Mudryk joining Kai Havertz and Joao Felix in the attack, while Marc Cucurella and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were also recalled.
The Blues did not show a lot of attacking impetus in the early stages, with Villa going close through a low strike by Ollie Watkins inside ten minutes.
Villa would go on to get the opening goal in the 18th minute as Watkins took advantage of a mix-up in the defence to race clear and fire past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Blues went close to pulling themselves in the 35th minute when Mateo Kovacic did well to pick out Ben Chilwell with a reverse pass, but the full-back saw his shot rattle the upright.
Chelsea ended the first half the stronger of the two sides, but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez produced a superb save to keep out Havertz before the halftime break.
However, Villa doubled their lead ten minutes into the second half in spectacular fashion when John McGinn found the back of the net with a superb first-time finish.
Potter responded with a double change as N'Golo Nate and Noni Madueke replaced Mudryk and Loftus-Cheek for the final 30 minutes of the second half.
Madueke looked to make the desired impact as he combined with Reece James, who sent a superb cross into the box but Christian Pulisic failed to profit in the box.
That proved to be the final clear-cut opening for the home side, who slumped to a tenth defeat of the league season and now find themselves in 11th position.
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