Credit: BBC Match of the Day, Imago

Evan Lloyd

Sun 28 December 2025 9:30, UK

Wayne Rooney was very impressed with the performance of Jadon Sancho after he came on against his former club Chelsea on Saturday.

Aston Villa beat Chelsea 2-1, despite having taken the lead in the first half when Joao Pedro flicked in Reece James‘ corner.

Sancho came on at the same time as Ollie Watkins, with the latter scoring twice in the second half to seal the points for Unai Emery‘s team.

Benoit Badiashile made a mistake in the build-up to Watkins’ first goal, before the striker headed home the winner from Youri Tielemans‘ corner.

Morgan Rogers was targeted with taunting chants by the Chelsea fans, but got the last laugh when Villa secured an 11th consecutive win across all competitions.

Wayne Rooney blown away by ‘excellent’ Jadon Sancho

Chelsea felt that they should have had a penalty against Villa when the ball appeared to strike Ian Maatsen‘s arm inside the box at the end of the first half, but their claims were ignored.

Despite having gone into the break ahead, there was an element of frustration about the Blues after countless chances to extend the advantage had been spurned.

And they would live to regret passing up those opportunities when Emery made his substitutions in the second half.

Watkins, Sancho and Amadou Onana came on, with all three ultimately contributing to a spectacular comeback.

Onana intercepted Badiashile‘s wayward pass in the build-up to the equaliser, with the ball eventually finding its way to Watkins, who benefited from a deflection off Robert Sanchez to score.

There was no luck about the winner, however. The England international’s header was perfectly placed into the bottom corner and beyond the reach of the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Rooney was keen to mention Sancho, and told BBC Match of the Day on Saturday: “Jadon Sancho came into this as well and we haven’t seen much of him this season, but I thought he was excellent when he came on.

“Getting the ball, driving with the ball and committing the Chelsea defenders and then they had runners off that – they had Morgan Rogers making runs in behind.”

Sancho has won Unai Emery’s favour

Sancho was one of three transfer deadline day arrivals at Villa, with Victor Lindelof and Harvey Elliott also joining.

But while Emery trusted the winger to make an impact off the bench against Chelsea, Elliott remained locked out of the squad for the ninth consecutive Premier League game.

Elliott’s situation at Villa is bizarre. The England youth international’s arrival from Liverpool appeared to be a coup for decision-makers at Villa Park, with an obligation to buy agreed for next summer.

But Emery, despite claiming the decision is down to tactical reasons, has almost entirely expelled the 22-year-old from his squad.

Sancho has risked the same fate, having largely been limited to brief appearances in the Premier League this season.

But his performance on Saturday has proven Emery’s trust in him, and he can expect to continue to feature for Villa.