Saturday 7 February 2015 17:51, UK
After 659 minutes without a goal, Aston Villa finally found the net on Saturday – but their drought goes down as the fourth-longest in Premier League history.
Jores Okore’s backpost header, three minutes into the second half against Chelsea, was the first time Villa had scored in 10 hours and 59 minutes of top flight football.
That run stretches back to December 20, when Christian Benteke opened the scoring against Manchester United, 18 minutes into the eventual 1-1 draw at Villa Park.
Paul Lambert’s side have drawn blanks against Swansea, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal since then, although Villa did manage to beat the defences of Championship sides Blackpool and Bournemouth in the FA Cup during that time.
Against Chelsea, Villa passed three previous goal-drought milestones set by Everton (2005), Sheffield United (1993/94) and Everton (1993/94) but Okore’s equaliser to Eden Hazard’s opener meant Villa’s lean spell finished 180 minutes shy of Crystal Palace’s 1994/95 839-minute record.
Branislav Ivanovic’s superb strike curtailed celebrations from the home fans, though, and handed Jose Mourinho his first win at Villa Park.
Despite Okore's goal, Lambert’s side remain bottom of the pile in the Premier League in terms of total scored (12, eight fewer than West Brom), shots on target (63) and shooting accuracy (35.59 per cent).
Longest goal droughts in the Premier League
Crystal Palace – 839 minutes to January 14, 1995
Derby County – 777 minutes to December 8, 2007
Ipswich Town – 714 minutes to April 15, 1995
Aston Villa – 659 minutes to February 7, 2015
Everton – 641 minutes to January 3, 1994
Sheffield United – 621 minutes to January 1, 1994
Everton – 615 minutes to October 23, 2005
