Aston Villa’s win at Chelsea tightens the title race, while pressure mounts on Enzo Maresca and West Ham face deepening relegation trouble
OLLIE Watkins inspired Aston Villa to a crucial win at Chelsea, keeping them in a Premier League title race where the top three are separated by just three points.
Arsenal maintain a two-point lead over Manchester City after both secured 2-1 wins against Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively on Saturday.
Villa, on an 11-game winning streak, visit leaders Arsenal next on Tuesday in a pivotal title clash.
At the opposite end, West Ham look increasingly likely to join Burnley and Wolves in relegation after a home defeat left them five points from safety.
Watkins returned to form with a decisive impact off the bench at Stamford Bridge, having scored only three times this season prior.
Villa manager Unai Emery revealed the striker has battled knee discomfort for over a year, but he looked sharp to turn the game.
“His mentality was amazing, his commitment was amazing,” said Emery.
Watkins hopes to celebrate his 30th birthday by helping Villa draw level on points with Arsenal at the Emirates.
“If this does prove to be a turning point in his season then Villa truly can dream about ending a 30-year wait to win any trophy,” Watkins said.
Pressure is mounting on Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca after just one win in six league games sent his team tumbling to fifth.
Maresca recently complained about a lack of internal support but is testing the patience of Chelsea fans despite winning two trophies in his debut season.
The Italian served a touchline ban as his side collapsed in the second half against Villa’s tactical changes.
Watkins labelled Emery a “tactical genius” for a triple substitution that shifted momentum, while Maresca’s own triple change failed.
Maresca’s decision to substitute Cole Palmer drew an angry reaction from the England international.
West Ham’s woes deepened with a 1-0 home loss to Fulham, leaving them deep in relegation trouble with two points from their last six games.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo said the team’s failure to score is compounding their problems.
“We can spend hours and hours talking about all the aspects, but basically when you don’t score, the situation that we are in, everything bad happens to us,” said Nuno.
