Aston Villa v Chelsea as it happened – Marco Asensio double gives Unai Emery huge win as Marcus Rashford shines

JANUARY SIGNINGS THE DIFFERENCE AS VILLA ROAR BACK TO BEAT CHELSEA

Marco Asensio was the two-goal hero as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park.

The Spaniard, on-loan from Paris Saint-Germain, netted a superb brace to cancel out Enzo Fernandez’s 12th-minute opener, and both his strikes were set up by fellow January arrival Marcus Rashford, who was introduced as a half-time substitute by Unai Emery.

Villa started the game lackadaisically, with the visitors, sporting a new 4-3-3 shape that included captain and natural right-back Reece James in a midfield position, taking control of the early exchanges.

James’ move into midfield proved to be a tactical masterstroke from Enzo Maresca, who was forced to tamper with his line-up due to the injury to right-winger Noni Madueke. James’ midfield berth allowed Fernandez greater freedom to maraud further forward and add numbers to the Chelsea attack, and his late box-crash to turn home Pedro Neto’s cutback was a worthy reward for the Blues’ start.

However, the pendulum swung at the interval, as Emery turned to Rashford to change the game.

The on-loan Manchester United forward did just that, laying on two assists for Asensio. The first stemmed from his willingness to get to the byline and chance a cross, which Asensio bundled in just shy of the hour.

The goal was initially ruled out for an offside flag against Rashford, but the VAR Paul Tierney overruled the on-field decision. Cue delirium from the Holte End.

The second – and winning – goal, scored in the 89th minute, came from Rashford’s quick thinking, taking a corner short to Youri Tielemans, before firing a delivery into the middle. He picked out Asensio once more, and the Spaniard’s improvised finish squirmed beyond Filip Jorgensen and span over the line to give Villa a crucial three points in the race for Europe.