Monday Weekend Review - Villa's Historic Eleven | Football Digest

The historic single-match Boxing Day didn't disappoint — Patrick Dorgu's sensational volley proved the perfect appetiser for a weekend that delivered drama across the board. Aston Villa became the story of Christmas with an 11th consecutive victory, while Florian Wirtz finally broke his Liverpool duck. But it was Wolves who delivered the most sobering statistic: 18 games in, still winless. The festive period marches on — and so does a genuinely open title race.

11 consecutive wins — Aston Villa have now matched their all-time club record winning streak, last achieved in 1910. Unai Emery's side have accumulated 18 points from losing positions this season — more than any other Premier League side, as reported by Premier League.

Unai Emery's masterstroke to leave Ollie Watkins on the bench backfired — and then didn't. Chelsea dominated the first 58 minutes at Stamford Bridge, taking a deserved lead through Joao Pedro's bundled corner finish, but the game flipped the moment Watkins entered alongside Jadon Sancho and Amadou Onana. Within five minutes he'd equalised from Morgan Rogers' exquisite through-ball; by the 84th minute, he'd headed home Youri Tielemans' corner to seal a 2-1 comeback victory. Villa now sit three points off leaders Arsenal with a crucial Emirates clash on Tuesday. Emery has transformed Villa into genuine title contenders — their 96% wages-to-revenue ratio notwithstanding — and that resilience from losing positions (18 points recovered this season) suggests they won't go quietly, as reported by ESPN.

Ruben Amorim threw a tactical curveball on Boxing Day — abandoning his beloved 3-4-2-1 for a 4-2-3-1 formation that pushed Patrick Dorgu into an unfamiliar right wing role. The gamble paid dividends spectacularly when the 21-year-old Dane met Nick Woltemade's looping clearance with a thunderous first-time volley that left Aaron Ramsdale grasping at air. Manchester United held on despite mounting pressure and multiple injury concerns — Bruno Fernandes watching from the stands, Mason Mount withdrawn at half-time — to secure their first home clean sheet in two months. Lisandro Martinez captaining the side on his first start of the season typified the makeshift nature of Amorim's squad, but three points were banked regardless, as reported by Sky Sports.

The moment Anfield had been waiting for arrived in the 42nd minute: Florian Wirtz ghosted between Santiago Bueno and Yerson Mosquera, collected Hugo Ekitike's through ball, and poked past Jose Sa for his first Liverpool goal since his £116m summer move from Bayer Leverkusen. It came just 89 seconds after Ryan Gravenberch's sweeping opener, and at 2-0, the festive fixture against winless Wolves seemed wrapped up. Six minutes into the second half, it nearly unravelled — Tolu Arokodare out-jumped Ibrahima Konate and Santiago Bueno converted the rebound. Set-piece vulnerability continues to haunt Arne Slot's side, but three points were preserved, and Wirtz now has consecutive games with goal involvements, as reported by This Is Anfield.

Rayan Cherki chose his moment perfectly. Having assisted Tijjani Reijnders' 48th-minute opener at the City Ground, the France international was denied by an excellent John Victor save moments later. When Omari Hutchinson's equaliser threatened to derail Manchester City's title charge, Cherki responded with a beautifully-struck volley in the 83rd minute — his first Premier League goal since the opening day. Pep Guardiola's side have now won eight consecutive matches across all competitions and briefly topped the table before Arsenal's victory over Brighton. The manner of victory — grinding out a result against a compact Sean Dyche side — will concern their rivals, as reported by Manchester City.

Arsenal remain top at Christmas for the fifth time in four seasons — and crucially, the previous four occasions saw them fail to convert that position into a title. Mikel Arteta's injury-hit side showed their resilience against Brighton, recovering from Riccardo Calafiori's warm-up injury to secure a 2-1 victory. With Declan Rice impressing at emergency right-back and David Raya producing a crucial diving save to deny Yankuba Minteh late on, the Gunners maintained their two-point advantage over City. Gabriel's return as a substitute was the only silver lining for a defence ravaged by injuries to Jurrien Timber, Ben White, and Cristhian Mosquera, as reported by ESPN.