A reluctant indulger of adulation, Marcus Rashford slowed to allow team-mates to move ahead.
John McGinn and Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa’s key leaders, whipped up the Holte End. Relief abounded. Villa needed to beat Chelsea after drawing four of the last five league matches and taking 11 points from the previous eight.
Ultimately, they did, rousing themselves out of the all-too-familiar average start to come from behind and dig out a victory. Akin to a heavyweight boxer with a weak chin, defensive brittleness remained — though in Rashford and Marco Asensio, they had the power to retaliate.
“(Rashford and Asensio need) to get confidence and feel they can adapt to our structure,” said Unai Emery. “Today they did one step forward in their adaptation with us.”
Outscoring the opposition appears to be the chief ploy from here on in, with defensive injuries and (dis)organisation unlikely to be fixed short term. The liberation felt after two big-money players delivered a big result was palpable.
Rashford clapped supporters while Asensio stood hunched over, hands on knees and smiling. He had scored both goals in the 2-1 win — the first time he had scored more than once in a match since September 2021 when he notched a hat-trick for Real Madrid against Mallorca — with Rashford assisting.
“It helps us a lot when you see them linking up for both goals,” Youri Tielemans told Sky Sports. “We know they are only loans but hopefully we can get more from them if they play well and help us to reach our goals.”
Asensio, like Rashford, has the alluring ability to shift a team out of malaise with single moments of quality. Latterly, at their previous clubs, those moments were fleeting and patience eventually wore thin. Yet Emery often affords those he has faith in extra time on the pitch to, as he calls it, “practice” and wait for their magic to resurface.
Villa are benefiting from Marco Asensio’s passing range (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Similar goodwill was extended from supporters and senior staff. Co-owner Nassef Sawiris was at Villa Park and waited for the players before they headed in from their warm-up. He smiled and shook each hand and sought out Rashford, who was starting on the bench, before exchanging a few words.
Both Rashford and Asensio are in their honeymoon period, with their names cheered the loudest when read over the PA system and each time the ball is at their feet — particularly Rashford — there is an audible sense of anticipation.
Asensio immediately impressed team-mates in training. His deftness of touch and capacity to recognise attacking pictures ahead of him — even before they develop — was striking. Emery made it clear he would operate as a No 10 and, in doing so, move Morgan Rogers out of the position and towards the right, where he has licence to drift inside.
Consequently, this flipped Villa’s traditional build-up shape of the right-winger and the left-back providing the width on either flank to the polar opposite.
There was also little doubt about where Rashford would play, in contrast to his final days at Manchester United. Emery told The Athletic his best position was in the left channel.
Rashford can thrive on Villa’s left side (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
“It is important they are playing and adapting quickly,” said Emery. “They are versatile players. Marcus can play left side, up front. We usually play two No 10s and Marco can play both positions — he played fantastic.”
Emery was decisive in his plans for both, owing to how long the pair had enamoured him. He had seen Asensio over the years for Real Madrid and was kept informed of his progress through his previous connections at Paris Saint-Germain, where the midfielder had moved.
Sources close to Asensio, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, insist one of the fundamental reasons he chose Villa was Emery’s insistence that he would operate as a No 10, which is regarded as his “natural position” and one he has not played regularly since his year on loan to Espanyol in the 2015-16 season.
The first half against Chelsea charted Villa’s season: flat, void of stability and the same defensive issues lingering. “Very bad” was Emery’s assessment.
Pedro Neto turned Ian Maatsen inside out and set up Enzo Fernandez to score, which left Villa stuck on three clean sheets in 27 matches. Neto’s role as a floating No 9 unsettled the back line, isolating Tyrone Mings in the right channel and attacking the space Maatsen left.
Villa’s urge to win was pressing. Another point would not suffice given the rewards and financial risks at stake. They are on the precipice with their wage-to-turnover astronomically high and Rashford and Asensio, though not permanent signings, are on significant salaries.
Chelsea were a goal ahead yet vulnerable. Emery intended to pile pressure on their back four, pushing both full-backs high — a shift from his usual policy of keeping three defenders behind the ball in possession — and, pertinently, assimilating pace into the attack. Rashford came on at half-time with Donyell Malen and Leon Bailey later introduced.
Rashford’s presence altered Villa’s attacking structure. He stayed close to the touchline, with Maatsen conservative in choosing when to overlap. This stretched Chelsea’s defence, isolating right-back Malo Gusto and cultivating space for Asensio between the lines.
Rashford offered a threat behind and Asensio’s first instinct was to look for his runs. Looping crosses towards the back post went agonisingly close and the early connection proved a precursor to Asensio’s equaliser, with Matty Cash supplying the ball to Rashford at the back post.
Following a VAR check, the England international was judged onside, controlling Cash’s cross to square for Asensio inside the six-yard box.
Asensio brought the ice to the attacking fire. He added serenity to Villa’s play, threading passes through to the sprinters and making late forays into the box. Intelligent movement for his second goal was picked out by Rashford, who had received the ball back having taken a short corner.
In the 89th minute, Asensio’s volley met Rashford’s cross, on target and amply supported over the line by a goalkeeping mishap from Filip Jorgensen.
It was enough to make Ozzy Osbourne, the Villa-supporting rock star, describe Asensio as a “superstar” 0n X. He and Rashford were recruited for games precisely like this: to be the difference-makers. It was the second time Rashford had assisted the same player twice (Anthony Martial was the first in 2020) and helped increase Villa’s total of points accrued from losing positions this season to 18, more than any other team.
Villa’s firepower is indisputable and the risk of going all in in the recent transfer window required their marquee signings to produce. Victory against Chelsea was the first step.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
