Aston Villa’s latest comeback win has highlighted coach Unai Emery’s remarkable record of turning around games, which has put his side firmly in the Premier League title race.
After Saturday’s 2-1 win at Chelsea – their 12th in 13th league matches – Villa have claimed 18 points from losing positions so far this season, more than any other team.
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And it is not just this year that the Spaniard has been affecting games with his decision-making. Across the last three seasons, Villa have won more points from matches in which they were losing than any other Premier League team, according to data firm Opta.
In the 58th minute on Saturday, with Chelsea 1-0 up and looking in control, Emery gambled on a triple substitution, bringing on Ollie Watkins and more attacking firepower in the form of winger Jadon Sancho, along with midfielder Amadou Onana.
Five minutes later, Watkins pounced on a through ball by Morgan Rogers to beat Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal.
Buoyed by their equaliser and their change of personnel, Villa looked transformed from the side that was pinned back by their hosts for most of the first hour.
In the 84th minute, Watkins – hoping for a place in the England World Cup squad next summer – met a Youri Tielemans corner with an angled header that left Sanchez with no chance.
“He’s a tactical genius,” Watkins said when asked by Sky Sports about Emery’s ability to change the momentum of matches.
The coach himself tried to sound a bit less effusive. “It’s something, of course, that makes us proud of everything we are doing,” Emery said when asked about Villa’s ability to turn losing situations into victories.
He sought to play down his side’s chances of winning the title, despite their blistering form.
“I am not feeling it,” Emery said. “I am feeling we competing very well, and we are now the third in the league with two teams, Manchester City and Arsenal, wow.”
But with the season only halfway through, Villa, who struggled badly at the start of the campaign, need to show more consistency, he said.
Villa face league leaders Arsenal in London on Tuesday.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had to face questions about much less impressive statistics for his young side, who have dropped 11 points from winning positions in home Premier League matches this season – four more than any other side.
“We need to understand why when we concede a goal, we struggle a bit to manage the game,” the Italian told reporters.
He was left to rue Chelsea’s failure to build a bigger lead before Villa’s fightback.
“By the time they scored the goal, I think we should have scored two to three goals,” Maresca said.
Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool maintain form
Manchester City threw down the gauntlet for the second successive weekend, and Arsenal proved undaunted as they kicked off their festive fixtures with a narrow 2-1 defeat of Brighton & Hove Albion to stay as Premier League leaders on Saturday.
City won 2-1 at Nottingham Forest, with Rayan Cherki grabbing a goal and an assist to briefly move to the top of the pile.
But Arsenal, just as they had done last week by beating Everton after City’s earlier win over West Ham United, were unwavering as captain Martin Odegaard scored his first goal of the season for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal also needed an own goal and a spectacular save by keeper David Raya to preserve their lead, as the halfway point in the Premier League season looms.
The London side have 42 points from 18 games, with City on 40.
When Odegaard drilled in a 14th-minute opener for the Gunners, and Georginio Rutter’s own goal from a Declan Rice corner made it 2-0 shortly after the break, it should have been a routine three points for the hosts.
But Diego Gomez’s reply for Brighton changed the complexion of the contest, and there was relief at the final whistle as Arsenal cleared another obstacle in the title chase.
“The knock-on effect of winning is incredibly powerful,” Arteta said of a victory that should have been easier.
“It should never be 2-1, but that’s the Premier League. What I like is that we have a lot of issues [but] we’re dealing with it in an incredible way. Yesterday, we lost Jurrien [Timber]; today, we lost [Riccardo] Calafiori in the warm-up; Declan [Rice] has to play as a full-back, and you see the performance that he put in. So, that’s the spirit and that’s how much our players want it.”
Florian Wirtz scored his first Liverpool goal as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on an emotional Anfield afternoon, when both sets of fans remembered the late Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in July.
Wirtz doubled Liverpool’s lead shortly after Ryan Gravenberch had put them in front, although Wolves rallied in the second half and Santiago Bueno pulled a goal back.
Reigning champions Liverpool moved fourth on 32 points, while the misery for the bottom club Wolves continues.
They have now broken the Premier League record for winless starts to a season and have two points from 18 games, and are 16 points behind the fourth-from-bottom Nottingham Forest.