Watkins hails ‘tactical genius’ Emery

Ollie Watkins called Unai Emery a ‘tactical genius’ after Villa Aston came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 and extend their winning streak to 11 matches in all competitions.

Villa were second for long periods at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and fell behind when Reece James’ incoming corner was deflected away by Joao Pedro.

The visitors had failed to lay a glove on Chelsea in the first half, and continued pressure from the Blues prompted Emery to make a triple substitution just before the hour mark.

Watkins, Jadon Sancho and Amadou Onana were replaced by Emi Buendia, John McGinn and Donyell Malen.

These changes paid off, as Watkins equalized after collecting an excellent pass from Morgan Rogers, before settling the match six minutes from the end of normal time with a superb header from a corner by Youri Tielemans.

Aston Villa hero Watkins hails Emery’s ‘tactical genius’

This means that Villa is just three points behind the Premier League leaders Arsenal head into Tuesday’s meeting with the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium. Villa won the reverse fixture 2-1 earlier this month.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable win,” Watkins said.

“Obviously, for me personally, to come on and score two goals is a great feeling.

“But to continue that momentum and come back here and beat Chelsea in a tough place is incredible – that’s really the word to sum it up.”

Explaining Emery’s changes, Watkins added: “He changed it because Chelsea were playing man for man, but they had an extra centre-back when we went long.

“So when I came on in the second half he brought Sancho on the wing and Morgan, and I think that gave us a bit more space.

“And then put Youri in No. 10, so we had an extra body up there.

“Tactical genius, I would say.”