What John McGinn did to Ollie Watkins after Aston Villa goal as Christian Purslow me celebrates

Aston Villa defeat at Legia Warsaw with a fourth victory of the Premier League campaign against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Ollie Watkins scored his first league goal of the season to win the game for Villa in the second half, after Chelsea were reduced to 10 men on the hour mark. Malo Gusto received his matching orders from Jarred Gillett for a tackle on Lucas Digne, but not before the referee changed his original decision of a yellow card having been advised to check the tackle at the VAR monitor.

Emery has now claimed back-to-back away league wins over Chelsea, which is a feat Villa haven’t managed for 90 years. The result spells a strong start to the campaign for the club, who have had to deal with their fair share of challenges in the first weeks of the season.

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AND IT WILL ONLY GET BETTER

The injuries suffered to Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia came as a huge blow for Villa either side of a 5-1 defeat at Newcastle. Emery could have hardly imagined a worse start to the campaign than that.

Yet, despite the setbacks and difficulties which Villa have faced in the first six weeks of the season, including injuries, away trips to St. James’ Park and Anfield – which is about as hard as it gets in the Premier League – as well as a shock loss in Warsaw, Villa are actually in a very positive place.

Things can only get better still as new signings gel and Emery continues to implement a new style this term. He mentioned that he team is under “construction” and that teething issues could still persist.

So for Villa to be sitting in sixth place having played arguably two of the three most challenging away games, and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while being without both Jacob Ramsey and Alex Moreno through injury, there’s plenty to look forward to.

UNAI EMERY SETS VILLA CHALLENGE

Emery once again hit the nail on its head in his post-match press conference after the win over Chelsea. He outlined that Villa controlled the game better than in previous trips this season, but there’s more to come from their performances.

“It is very important at the beginning to try and keep consistent in the Premier League,” he said. “We needed to find a way where we were stronger than we were against Newcastle and Liverpool. Today was tough but we competed very well.

“We had our chances to score, we tried in those moments to be offensive and we did. It is always difficult to win here.

“The clean sheet is important. We have to feel good defensively and feel comfortable when we try to controller possession and the game. These three points are very important for us to try and keep the balance in the Premier League.

“There is still work to do but today I think it is very good. We have to keep trying to keep going forward working on the things we want to improve.”

MOMENTS MISSED

The Spaniard didn’t stop coaching on the touchline, and from the press box vantage point, it was an experience to watch him at work. After Pau Torres shanked a pass across the pitch inside the first minutes of the game, Emery shouted and gestured at his centre-back, calling for calm.

Torres responded too, by playing his best game in claret and blue. He completed 92 per cent of the 49 passes he attempted, and completed 100 per cent of the long balls he played. The 26-year-old also won all of his tackles and ground duels.

Later in the first half, as Villa tried to command possession and take control of the game, John McGinn fired a wayward cross ball towards Lucas Digne, but it was intercepted. Emery jumped up and down in his technical area in frustration after Villa had, up until the 30th minute, struggled to sustain pressure in the final third.

The Villa skipper was sure to remind his teammates after the full-time whistle at Warsaw to show their appreciation for the travelling fans in Poland, and after responding with a big three points at Chelsea, McGinn gave a fist pump in front of the away supporters in West London which drew a huge roar.

CHRISTIAN PURSLOW ENJOYS HIS AWAY DAY

Villa fans were excellent all game and really did play the role of the 12th man. Among them was the club’s former CEO Christian Purslow.

The 59-year-old left the club at the end of last season after nearly five years. He joined Villa in September 2018 shortly after NSWE acquired a controlling interest in the club.

Purslow was filmed singing in the concourse to the lyrics of ‘Christian Purslow went to Spain, in a Lamborghini, brought us back a manager, super Unai Emery’. He was also captured chanting the famed ‘Allez, Allez, Allez’ in the away end during the match.

AT LONG LAST FOR OLLIE WATKINS

He only had 18 touches in the match and with the one sight of goal he had, Watkins scored his 12th match-winning goal for Villa. This one, more than any other, would have lifted so much weight off his shoulders.

Watkins has knowingly been criticised for his lack of goals at the start of the league campaign, but it was a matter of time before he opened his account. He’s also spearheaded an attack which has scored 12 goals in six games. Only five teams have bagged more than Emery’s side so far this campaign.

After slamming the ball beyond Robert Sanchez to give Villa the lead in the second half, Watkins put his fingers in his ears to suggest he is blocking out background noise, before McGinn pulled him from where he was celebrating – in front of the home fans – to lap up the noise from the away end at the opposite side. Watkins was beating his chest and holding the Villa crest on his shirt as supporters went berserk in the lower and upper tiers of the Shed End.