Premier League – summary of the 35th round: Chelsea did not complete the turnaround

Goals: 4. Marc Cucurella (left), 42. Morgan Rogers – 62. Noni Madueke, 81. Conor Gallagher

In the 35th round of the Premier League, Aston Villa did not maintain a promising lead against Chelsea, with whom they only drew 2:2. Although the Lions entered the match very actively and carried a two-goal lead into the half-time break, they gradually lost it after the change of sides and due to the improved performance of the guests and the forced substitution of Emiliano Martínez. First, after an hour of the game, Noni Madueke reduced, who assisted Conor Gallagher’s beautiful equalizer in the final ten minutes. Although the Villans lost important points in the fight for the Champions League, even thanks to the difficult draw of rival Tottenham, they still remain the favorites to participate in the millionaire competition.

Reputable journalists have been vying for information on who will be the new coach of Bayern, and Aston Villa coach Unai Emery was one of the candidates. However, the Spaniard does not miss anything in Birmingham and has signed a new contract. Here he wanted to celebrate against Chelsea, which his former charges from Arsenal embarrassed a few days ago with a five-goal debacle. At Villa Park, The Blues were particularly threatened by Ollie Watkins, the league’s third-highest goalscorer.

The London team recovered from a heavy beating in the city derby at the beginning of the duel in Birmingham, which the home Villans took advantage of in the fourth minute. Emery’s men combined with a handsome interplay to finish John McGinn, who was unluckily knocked down by Marc Cucurella behind the back of a helpless Djordje Petrovic. The Blues rejoiced only for a moment after the equalizer after a precise shot by Nicolas Jackson, whose form was far from ideal in recent games. The video referee detected the Senegalese’s offside and called off the intervention. The same player also came close to scoring after half an hour when Cucurella put the ball on his head, but Jackson only hit the right post. The territorial superiority that the Blues possessed throughout the half came to naught, as in the 42nd minute, Petrović fished the ball out of his own net for the second time, when Morgan Rogers beat him with a hidden shot to the front post.

The wrinkles on Emery’s forehead were made by goalkeeper Martínez, who had to substitute during the break due to injury. The substitute of the Argentine world champion Robin Olsen was the first to be scared by Madueke, who missed with a ground shot in the 53rd minute. However, this did not deter the skilful winger from further offensive forays, for which he reaped the rewards after an hour of play, when he punished Douglas Luiz’s mistake with a precise finish. The reduction of Mauricio Pochettino’s charge made him even more excited and they clearly had the upper hand on the pitch. The constant superiority of The Blues finally resulted in an equalizer at the beginning of the last ten minutes. Madueke, this time in the role of assistant, tapped the ball behind the penalty area to Gallagher, who curled his technical attempt superbly into the far corner. In the final setup, even Chelsea, with Olsen’s contribution, delivered the ball into the net for the third time, but the video referee detected a foul and called off the shot.

Chelsea thus failed to record a fourth consecutive triumph from Villa Park and gained only a point. In the next round, they will welcome Tottenham on May 2, Aston Villa will play Brighton three days later.