Mount turns up heat on Gerrard
MANAGER BOOED OFF AFTER MASON DOUBLE
STEVEN GERRARD was booed down the tunnel after Tyrone Mings’ blunder and Mason Mount’s opportunism pushed the Aston Villa manager to the brink.
Despite a much-improved performance, Gerrard suffered a first defeat in five games.
Another setback at Fulham on Thursday night, when Villa could drop into the relegation places, may be a tipping point.
Chelsea, unbeaten under Graham Potter and flying after five wins in a row, rode their luck. Only born-again goalkeeper Kepa’s best display for the club enabled the Blues to survive
Villa’s first-half onslaught, and head coach Potter said: “He is contributing with clean sheets. His brilliant saves kept us in the game and allowed us to take the points.”
Poor Villa did not deserve to lose, but they aren’t just treading water – they are now floundering in quicksand. Gerrard said: “I’d be stupid not to be aware of where we’re at and accept that. I won’t hide from the criticism.”
Is it all Gerrard’s fault? Not really – he has not been helped by injuries to key defensive recruits, nor was he culpable for a glut of missed chances here.
He cannot legislate for calamitous individual mistakes like Mings’ inexplicable blooper which gifted Chelsea the lead after just six minutes.
Dealing with Ben Chilwell’s looping, half-blocked cross should have been meat and drink to an England centreback with 17 international caps but Mings miscued his attempted headed clearance and Mount, eight yards out, could neither believe his luck nor miss.
Chelsea doubled their advantage 20 minutes after the break. Mings was penalised for sweeping Mount’s feet from beneath him 25 yards out, and the England midfielder’s dipping free-kick wrongfooted Emiliano Martinez.
Chelsea fans lapped up Gerrard’s discomfort. When they dipped into the songbook of the damned, with that ominous refrain about being sacked in the morning, they may have been uncomfortably close to the truth.
ASTON VILLA (4-3-3): Martinez 5; Cash 6, Konsa 5, Mings 4, Young 5; Ramsey 7 (Dendoncker 78), Luiz 5, McGinn 6 (Coutinho 73); Bailey 5 (Buendia 66, 5), Ings 6, Watkins 5.
CHELSEA (3-4-2-1): Kepa 9; Chalobah 6, Thiago Silva 7, Cucurella 5 (Azpilicueta 46, 6); Sterling 5 (Broja 89), Loftus-Cheek 6, Kovacic 6 (Jorginho 65), Chilwell 7; Mount 8, Havertz 5 (Koulibaly 46, 7); Aubameyang 5 (Gallagher, 58, 6).
Goals: Mount 6, 65.