Aston Villa’s super-sub Ollie Watkins was effusive in his praise for coach Unai Emery on Saturday, crediting his tactical changes for helping the visitor’s rally from a goal down to seal their 12th English Premier League (EPL) win from 18 matches. Watkins came off the bench to score a brace (63rd and 84th minute) after Villa trailed to Joao Pedro’s 37th-minute opener.

Explaining Emery’s tactical switch, Watkins said: “Chelsea were going man for man, but they had the extra centre-back when we were going long. So, when I came on in, he [Emery] brought Sancho on the wing and Morgan, and it gave us a little more space. Then he put Tielemans in the No. 10 role, so we had an extra body up there. Tactical genius, I would say.” Villa have now won 11 consecutive matches across all competitions. They are currently third in the EPL table (39 pts).