(Football news) Following a goalless draw in West London, the teams reassemble at Villa Park, with the midweek winner facing off at home against either Plymouth Argyle or Leeds United.
The walls of Chelsea’s besieged Stamford Bridge stronghold had been reinforced before Aston Villa arrived for their quarterfinal match on January 26. Despite the Blues’ abundant possession at their West London home, neither team was able to punch a direct ticket to the round of five.
With just one point from their encounters with Everton and Newcastle United, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa team had all but vanished from the Premier League title race heading into this weekend’s match against Sheffield United. The dull draw in the capital was the second of three games in which the team had lost.
But the Lions improved their Champions League record with a commanding 5-0 victory in front of the disheartened Bramall Lane supporters, who saw Emery’s ruthless charges score four goals in the first thirty minutes before Alex Moreno’s exquisitely placed volley capped a stellar display.
Fourth-placed Villa still have a five-point deficit to close to the league leaders after Emery’s former team Arsenal defeated Liverpool a day later. However, their manager, who has won multiple Europa League titles, will now need to indulge his habit of winning cups once more.
Aston Villa’s victory over Middlesbrough in their FA Cup debut match is their best result in the competition since 2015–16. Prior to 2023–24, the Villas had seven consecutive third-round exits; however, since making it to the 2014–15 final, the Lions had not advanced past the fourth round.
On that fateful day at Wembley, Aston Villa succumbed to Arsenal’s FA Cup superiority in a 4-0 loss to the 14-time winners, and a beleaguered Chelsea also arrive at Villa Park having conceded a quartet of goals in the English capital, albeit only a few days ago rather than nine years ago.
Not since the 1974-75 campaign had Wolverhampton Wanderers achieved a league double over the Blues, but Gary O’Neil’s clinical charges snapped that 49-year streak on Sunday, as Matheus Cunha’s heroic hat-trick and an Axel Disasi own goal rendered Cole Palmer and Thiago Silva’s efforts inconsequential.
Having witnessed his side lose their uplifting winning home run in such catastrophic circumstances, Mauricio Pochettino faced the music and conceded that his job in West London is far from safe, as the 11th-placed Blues – who have now shipped four goals in back-to-back Premier League games – continue to languish in the unwelcome familiarity of mid-table.
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