Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti was sent crashing to his second successive Premier League defeat away from Stamford Bridge as Aston Villa won 2-1 yesterday.
James Collins delivered the killer blow with his first goal in four seasons to extend Villa’s unbeaten home run to six games and heighten optimism that Martin O’Neill’s side can unsettle the established order.
The worry lines on Italian boss Ancelotti’s forehead will become more pronounced with more performances like this, despite Didier Drogba’s seventh goal of the campaign having given the league leaders the advantage at Villa Park.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Richard Dunne capitalized on dreadful defending to equalize and Collins pounced early in the second half to condemn Chelsea to another defeat on the road.
Two seasons ago, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich stormed out of Villa Park in a rage after a 2-0 defeat, with then manager Jose Mourinho sacked days later.
Ancelotti is under no immediate danger, but the alarm bells will surely be ringing already, following their insipid defeat at Wigan Athletic.
This was no more than Villa deserved, however, and victory saw them go fifth in the table.
England coach Fabio Capello certainly picked a cracker to attend this weekend. He did not see Villa’s Emile Heskey, though, until nine minutes from time.
Whether he was misquoted or not, England striker Heskey’s rant about spending too much time on the bench fell on deaf ears. While his place with Capello’s squad seems relatively assured, he still cannot find a way into O’Neill’s starting 11.
Referee Steve Bennett was taken ill before the game, with fourth official Kevin Friend swiftly promoted and he was given his first major test in the 12th minute, following a scrappy start, when Gabriel Agbonlahor appeared to fall under the challenge of Jose Bosingwa, but he waved away the home side’s penalty appeals.
Chelsea then increased the frustration for a furious, fidgeting O’Neill when Drogba swiveled 35m from goal, before unleashing a speculative shot that somehow caught out Brad Friedel and found the back of the net.
The ball took a savage dip just in front of Friedel, but the US goalkeeper should still have done better.
It seemed a case of how many Chelsea would score for a period after that as Villa looked well short.
Villa found an equalizer, however, 13 minutes before halftime through Dunne, as Frank Lampard mistakenly flicked on Ashley Young’s corner into the path of the Republic of Ireland international, who could not miss.
The second half was looking delicately balanced until the 51st minute when Villa took the lead, thanks to more suspect defending by Ancelotti’s side.
Young’s corner bypassed John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho to find Collins lurking at the far post and he had the simplest of tasks heading into an unguarded net, with Petr Cech stranded.
Friedel repelled close-range efforts from Deco and Florent Malouda, but Chelsea’s afternoon plumbed further depths when Bosingwa limped off.
The late rally the Londoners needed never really materialized and these are worrying times for Ancelotti.
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