Chelsea dropped to the bottom half of the Premier League table after falling to Aston Villa 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter made three changes for the Blues, bringing in Mykhailo Mudryk to join Kai Havertz and Joao Felix in the attack, as well as Marc Cucurella and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
A low strike by Ollie Watkins for Villa within the first ten minutes gave them a chance to take the lead.
Watkins capitalized on a mistake in the defense to break free and beat goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for Villa’s first goal in the 18th minute.
Mateo Kovacic did brilliantly to pick out Ben Chilwell with a reverse pass in the 35th minute, but the full-shot back’s rattled the crossbar.
Chelsea finished the first half better, although Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a spectacular save to deny Havertz before the halftime break.
However, Villa extended their lead in stunning fashion ten minutes into the second half when John McGinn struck the back of the net with a brilliant first-time finish.
Potter replied with a double substitution, with N’Golo Nate and Noni Madueke coming on for Mudryk and Loftus-Cheek for the final 30 minutes of the half.
Madueke sought to make an impact as he combined with Reece James, who produced a wonderful cross into the box, but Christian Pulisic was unable to capitalize.
The home team lost for the eighth time this league season, falling to eleventh place, and that turned out to be their last clear-cut opportunity.
