Ollie Watkins scored the sole goal as Aston Villa beat 10-man Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
The opening minutes of the first half saw Chelsea with most of the possession. Moises Caicedo had an early chance from outside the box after Nicolas Jackson won the ball off Douglas Luiz, but the low shot was an easy save for Emiliano Martinez.
Aston Villa grew into the half, and Lucas Digne’s volley from a corner required a big save from Robert Sanchez to keep it out.
Chelsea thought they had broken the deadlock moments before half-time after a header from Axel Disasi, but the flag immediately went up for offside after Disasi mistimed his run from Raheem Sterling’s cross, a decision which VAR quickly confirmed.
The hosts began the second half quickly, but their joy in Villa’s half was quickly dampened after Malo Gusto’s studs-up tackle on Digne resulted in a sending-off.
Referee Jarred Gillett had initially given him a yellow, but after a VAR check at the monitor, the card was upgraded to a red.
Villa used their numerical advantage to break the deadlock after Watkins surged into the box during a counter-attack.
Defender Levi Colwill managed to block his first attempt, but Watkins was able to react quickly to finish his second attempt from a tight angle.
The victory means Villa move up to sixth in the table, while Chelsea drop down to 14th, marking their worst start to a top-flight season after the opening six games since 1978/79, a season in which they were relegated.
Up next, Chelsea will take on Brighton in the Carabao Cup, while Villa will host Everton.
