Chelsea slip into bottom half after defeat to Villa

Pressure mounts on Graham Potter after 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea coach Graham Potter comforts defender Reece James after their defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, April 1, 2023. AFP

Chelsea slipped into the bottom half of the Premier League table as John McGinn's brilliant 30-yard strike helped Aston Villa to a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge and put more pressure on Graham Potter.

The Villa captain struck 10 minutes after half-time to double his side's lead in front of a frustrated home crowd who made their displeasure heard after Ollie Watkins had pounced on a mistake by Marc Cucurella in the first half to stun Potter's side.

Chelsea, who enjoyed some 69 per cent possession and 26 shots but as so often this season proved toothless in front of goal, came out guns blazing in the second half only to concede a corner from a Villa break.

The ball came out to McGinn and he sent a searing shot from 20 metres past the diving Kepa and into the bottom corner in the 56th minute.

The result meant Villa, who have earned 29 points from 15 games since Unai Emery took over as coach last October, leapfrogged Chelsea into ninth place, while the London side dropped to 11th.

Chelsea had been their usual enterprising selves going forward, but their struggles in front of goal showed no sign of resolution in a game that showed yet again their lack of bite in the opposition box.

Chelsea kept toiling but never looked like threatening Emery's side. N'Golo Kante emerged from the bench to play his first minutes under Potter, but to no avail.

At the final whistle, boos rang around Stamford Bridge, as some supporters behind the dugout again called for Potter to go.

"Everyone was flinging their bodies on the line," McGinn told Sky sports. "This league's difficult so to go on a run like we've done, and to stay so humble, we were first class today."

Chelsea host Liverpool on Tuesday and play Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League later this month.

"We have to accept it (the result) and do better," Potter told Sky. "We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have a fantastic game on Tuesday to put it right

"There were a lot of good things in the game, a lot of attacking entries and shots. If you look at the stats of the game it was a positive performance, but in terms of the scoreline it's not. We're all really disappointed."