Villa climb into top half as Potter's blues continue

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 heaped pressure back onto 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 had been their usual enterprising selves going forward up to that point, 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.

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

Villa almost handed the hosts the perfect start. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez rolled the ball short to Boubacar Kamara, who dithered in possession and allowed Mykhailo Mudryk to nick it.

Stamford Bridge sensed a first Chelsea goal for the Ukrainian, but Martinez got the better of his one-on-one duel with the forward to smother the ball to safety.

Chelsea were nearly made to pay instantly. Their defence, with Reece James dropped back into a central three in place of the injured Wesley Fofana, parted allowing McGinn to release Watkins running clear. With only the goalkeeper to beat, he pulled his shot badly wide.

McGinn went closer still on 15 minutes when his curling effort smacked the crossbar. Chelsea, suddenly on the back foot, had received two early warnings. Neither would be heeded.

The opening goal was a calamity for Cucurella. Douglas Luiz's hopeful ball forward looked an easy mop-up job for Kalidou Koulibaly, but the back-peddling