Aston Villa recorded yet another wonderful victory in the Premier League, this time claiming the scalp of Chelsea, defeating the Blues 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Indeed, the win meant Villa recorded back-to-back away wins in consecutive seasons over Chelsea for the first time in the league since the 1930s, a remarkable feat.
Unai Emery was hoping to move on from a disappointing Europa Conference League defeat to Polish side Legia Warsaw and a goal from Ollie Watkins sealed all three points with just under 20 minutes remaining.
It was his first Premier League goal of the campaign and if he embarks on another run this term similar to what he achieved post-Christmas during last season – scoring 13 goals across his final 23 league matches – then Villa will be challenging the top six.
How did Ollie Watkins perform vs Chelsea?
Although Watkins had netted three goals before this tie, they had all come in the rampant 5-0 victory against Hibernian in the qualifiers for the Conference League.
The striker had registered two assists but he finally broke his barren spell against Mauricio Pochettino’s side while enjoying an impressive individual performance.
Along with his goal, Watkins also created one big chance, made one key pass and won 100% of his ground duels as he sought to cause mayhem to the Chelsea backline.
It certainly worked as he took his goal well, but the performance was a team effort and one player stood out among all else – Boubacar Kamara.
Was Boubacar Kamara Aston Villa’s best player vs Chelsea?
Emery deployed a 4-2-3-1, and it appeared to have the desired effect, with Kamara and Douglas Luiz controlling the game from the heart of the midfield.
Indeed, the midfield pair were described as being "far superior" to both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the centre of the park, as per The Teleraph's Matt Law, while the Frenchman, in particular, was lauded by journalist John Townley for his "outstanding" performance.
Outstanding he was. The midfielder took 65 touches during his spell on the pitch while he sought to carve open the Chelsea defence by making four key passes throughout the game.
A 89% pass success rate certainly helped Villa dominate the Blues in the middle of the pitch and Kamara also demonstrated that he could defend too, winning 60% of his ground duels alongside two interceptions and five tackles.
It was yet another wonderful performance by the former Marseille man. The 23-year-old currently ranks fourth in the squad for accurate passes per game (44.8) and key passes per game (1.3) while also ranking second for tackles (2.5) and fourth for interceptions (0.8) per game, showcasing his class across a wide range of metrics.
He will be vital to any success Villa hope to achieve this season and there is no doubt his performances will just continue to get better and better.
With four wins from six league games thus far, Emery has the club on the right path to securing a top-six finish, especially if Kamara – and Watkins – can remain fit and healthy in the coming months.
