Premier League: Chelsea recover, Aston Villa weighed down by its defense

Chelsea ended a bad run by easily beating Southampton (4-0), moving up to fourth place in the English championship standings on Tuesday during the 27th day . The Blues are two points ahead of Manchester City and Newcastle (who have a game in hand). They put Aston Villa, who suffered a heavy defeat at Crystal Palace (4-1), at a distance - at four points with a game in hand.

Chelsea's victory at Stamford Bridge against the bottom club was hardly in doubt, but the three consecutive defeats and the significant drop in performances this winter have brought out the supporters' protest placards. Around the London stadium, a few dozen of them have called for the departure of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, present since 2022 and who are slow to deliver results despite spending more than a billion pounds (around 1.2 billion euros).

This nervousness was noticeable in the first twenty minutes, with in particular long periods of defensive hesitation around goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, whistled by part of the crowd because of his hesitations with the ball at his feet. The solution came on a set piece, with Christopher Nkunku receiving a deflection from Tosin Adarabioyo (24th, 1-0), before Pedro Neto (36th), Levi Colwill (44th) and Marc Cucurella (78th) took advantage of the Saints' defensive largesse. The team remains convalescent and in full doubt, like Cole Palmer, who has not scored for six weeks and was rather clumsy in a match that seemed designed to revive him.

So consistent last season, the Clarets of Aston Villa are definitely no longer able to string together two wins in a row. Four days after their victory against Chelsea (2-1), they suffered their worst defeat of the season at Crystal Palace (4-1). The month of February is catastrophic in terms of accounting, with only five points out of fifteen in the championship.

The two prestigious winter signings, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, only came on in the 68th minute, when Jean-Philippe Mateta had just given his team the lead again (59th minute), after they had opened the scoring through Ismaïla Sarr (29th minute). The former Rennes player widened the gap three minutes after Rashford and Asensio came on. Eddie Nketiah added to the score (90th minute + 1 minute). With 45 goals conceded, and despite the presence of Emiliano Martinez in goal, Aston Villa has slipped to tenth place in the standings.

Crystal Palace, for their part, won their first victory at Selhurst Park in 2025, Oliver Glasner's team having been very comfortable away from home in recent weeks, with four consecutive victories. New disappointment also for Bournemouth, the other surprise team of the season with Nottingham Forest, who were beaten at Brighton (2-1) after a home defeat against Wolverhampton (0-1). They fall into line, in seventh position. This 27th day continues on Wednesday evening, with the Forest - Arsenal, Tottenham - City and notably Liverpool - Newcastle matches.