Aston Villa substitute's double stuns Chelsea as three-way Premier League title race heats up
Arsenal resisted a late fightback from Brighton on Sunday morning (AEDT) to hold onto first place in the Premier League - but the race at the top has continued to heat up after Manchester City and Aston Villa both recorded victories.
It is now a three-way fight at the top with just three points separating first and third.
City briefly held top spot after a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, but when Arsenal beat Brighton by the same score later in the day, it returned to the summit with a two-point advantage over Pep Guardiola's team.
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Leandro Trossard celebrates during Arsenal's win Getty
Villa are just a point further back in third after extending their remarkable winning run to 11 games in all competitions with a 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea.
Ollie Watkins was the hero for Villa, coming off the bench and scoring goals in the 63rd and 84th minute to put his side ahead.
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Unai Emery’s team were trailing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge after a first-half strike from Joao Pedro and then it was over to the super-sub Watkins to try and make a difference.
Almost immediately, the England striker delivered to level the scores within five minutes of coming onto the field, before heading home the winner to stun the home crowd and spark frenzied celebrations among Villa’s traveling supporters.
“Amazing is the word to sum it up,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring against Chelsea Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
It marked 12 wins in Villa’s last 13 league games and they have now firmly established themselves as a title threat with a clash against Arsenal next on the horizon.
Liverpool moved into fourth after a 2-1 win against last-placed Wolverhampton, setting a new Premier League record for the longest winless run from the start of a season.
In the other games, Kevin Schade scored a hat-trick in Brentford's 4-1 rout against Bournemouth, while the struggling West Ham went down 1-0 to Fulham and the second-to-bottom Burnley drew 0-0 with Everton.
