Aston Villa

Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to lead Chelsea to a much-needed 3-1 victory at Aston Villa with midfielder Jorginho scoring two penalties in the Premier League on Sunday.

Lukaku has not started a league game since picking up an injury in October and missed the last two games after testing positive for COVID-19. But the Belgian transformed his team's display after coming on at halftime at Villa Park, providing a constant threat, putting his side ahead and then earning the late penalty that secured the three points for Thomas Tuchel's side.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said it was a matter of time before former player Steven Gerrard would take charge of the Merseyside club, ahead of his return to Anfield as Aston Villa's head coach.

Liverpool great Gerrard, who replaced Dean Smith at Villa last month, won numerous trophies in 17 years at Anfield and will take on his boyhood club for the first time as a manager on Saturday.

LONDON - Steven Gerrard withstood a period of intense pressure to turn fallen giants Rangers into Scottish champions again and now Aston Villa provides one of the Premier League's all-time great players with a platform to truly prove himself as a manager.

Gerrard, who spent 17 years patrolling Liverpool's midfield and scored 120 Premier League goals in 504 appearances, has been named Villa boss after the Birmingham club sacked Dean Smith on Sunday.

It's not uncommon for England-born footballers to represent other countries. The Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Jamaica are just a few of the national sides with a decent proportion of English natives in their squads.

But a player from the outskirts of London suiting up for Poland? Now that's a new one. Yet that's exactly what happened to Matty Cash, who earned his first Poland call-up this week. Is Matty Cash Polish?

Emi Martínez became an absolute legend during this summer’s Copa América. As Argentina’s keeper, he taunted and shithoused his way to a shootout victory over Colombia in the semifinals on the way to helping Lionel Messi claim his first major international trophy. On Saturday, Martínez was back at it, taunting Cristiano Ronaldo before the last-minute Bruno Fernandes penalty vs Aston Villa flew into the Old Trafford faithful. 

BIRMINGHAM — A brilliant volley by Danny Ings and an Anwar El Ghazi penalty gave Aston Villa an easy 2-0 victory over a poor Newcastle United side in the Birmingham club's first home game of the Premier League season on Saturday.

A record of 12 goals in 29 Premier League games for Southampton last term prompted Villa to recruit the 29-year-old Ings for a reported 25 million pounds, and with two goals in his first two league games, the investment is already paying off.