I saw what Marcus Rashford did during Chelsea fightback - it just said everything

Aston Villa are becoming quite the comeback kings, aren’t they?

Wins may not always be delivered - and there have been some really frustrating points dropped this season - but nobody can doubt the mentality shown time and time again by Unai Emery’s claret and blue battalion.

Saturday evening’s 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea secured a huge three points in the race for Champions League qualification and were enough to soar Villa top of the standings in one notable statistic. Ahead of the upcoming midweek round of fixtures, no team has claimed more Premier League points after going behind in matches than Villa’s 18 this term.

Of course, the best approach would be to not go behind in the first place, but being able to fight back on so many occasions is a superb feat and one Emery has been working towards ever since being handed the reins at Villa Park. The head coach always backs his team to succeed - as long as they stick to his core principles - as he’s purposely crafted his squad around the personalities he wants at the football club.

‘If you don’t want to be here, you can go’, has always been the message from Emery. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, if the mentality isn’t there, you’re not going to have many strikes from Emery before you’re out. That was certainly the case with Jhon Duran before his £67.5 million exit to Al-Nassr and that’ll remain so until his Villa days are up.

Turning point

Now, back to the most recent week in Villa’s rollercoaster of a season and you could argue the performances as much as the results could prove to be a turning point. Not beating the ten men of Ipswich Town was far from ideal but the Villans still fought back from a goal down to draw 1-1. Then was the spirited 2-2 draw with title favourites Liverpool as Villa came from behind to claim a point.

The best was saved to last in an action-packed as Emery’s men scored twice in the second half to beat Chelsea 2-1, with Marco Asensio to score a brace from two Marcus Rashford assists. With that clash the third home Premier League outing in merely seven days, the players should’ve been absolutely exhausted but they displayed an elite mentality to fight until the death.

What Marcus Rashford did vs Chelsea said everything

Many players - especially of Rashford’s quality and reputation - would be frustrated figures when benched for such an important game, however the Manchester United loanee implied anything but a poor attitude.

Remaining seated in the press box while others ventured inside for a half-time pie, BirminghamWorld watched on as Rashford emerged out of the tunnel early to warm up. Villa were 1-0 down and struggling to make a mark in the attacking third, so Emery turned to one of his marquee January signings to make a difference.

And what a difference it turned out to be as Rashford not only terrorised Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto for 45 minutes but also assisted both of Asensio’s goals. The first came from a great run and superb anticipation to square the ball past Filip Jorgensen while the second was a delicate cross to Villa’s match-winner.

But the most impressive aspect of Rashford’s performance - to us at least - wasn’t even his goal contributions but his body language. Every time Villa’s new number nine received the ball, he looked up and didn’t once hesitate before taking on his man. Rashford was exuding confidence as he dribbled past the likes of Gusto and Reece James time and time again, creating a host of opportunities for his teammates.

Even when things didn’t go to plan, for example when he ran into trouble on three occasions or when he neither his shot were directed on target, Rashford kept his head up. At Man Utd, the attacker would often look defeated before he’d even attempted to take on a defender. Ruben Amorim publicly complained about this but - from first impressions at least - it seems the club was the issue, not the player.

Rashford wasn’t the only Villa player to make a difference against Chelsea as it was a team effort to overturn the result. A lot can still be learnt from the winger’s personality, though, as his performance and body language perfectly encapsulated the mentality Emery and Villa are striving to achieve.