Cole Palmer regained his goalscoring form against Aston Villa as Chelsea dominated the Villans in a 3-0 Premier League victory at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson scored early on again for the Blues, his fifth goal this season in the first 20 minutes. Marc Cucurella picked the ball off the Villa outside of their box and linked up with Jadon Sancho before playing a precise ball into the box to Jackson. The Senegalese striker volleyed the ball in the six-yard box with enough power to beat Emiliano Martinez and put Chelsea 1-0 up in the seventh minute.
The Blue’s second of the game was provided by the scorer of the winner last weekend, Enzo Fernandez in the 36th minute. Moises Caicedo fizzed the ball deep in the Villa half into Fernandez who combined with Palmer to break past the opposition defence. The Argentinian’s first touch bounced up in front of him to set up an outside-the-boot half-volley which he slotted into the bottom right-hand corner.
Unai Emery’s side kept Chelsea relatively quiet for most of the second half but struggled to threaten Sanchez much themselves.
Palmer punished Villa’s lack of threat and put the game to bed in the 83rd minute. A freekick won by the eventual goal scorer was played short before Palmer received the ball from Noni Madueke at the edge of the box. The Mancunian drifted past Leon Bailey and his unbalanced effort arrowed into the top-left-hand corner to grab Chelsea’s third and final goal of the match.
Aston Villa disappointed in their visit to Stamford Bridge. For a side that won their last two league appearances at the Bridge, Villa struggled to create any chances outside of set pieces and defensive errors.
Their willingness to play out the back numerously put them in dangerous situations and gave away easy chances. Especially with forwards such as Jackson, and Pedro Neto who are notorious for their press, it was an odd decision to be so insistent on this style of football.
There were multiple candidates for Enzo Maresca’s standout player. The pundits will understandably choose Palmer for his goal contributions, and he deserves credit for how effective a player he is. He has 28 goal contributions in 23 Stamford Bridge appearances in the Premier League.
My Man of the Match award, however, would go to Caicedo. Aston Villa is well known for its intensity and tough midfield. It seems that this could be a tough challenge for the Ecuadorian. However, he proceeded to thwart multiple counterattacks and completely frustrate the Villans. Caicedo even played outside of his regular position, deployed as a makeshift right back to make up for Reece James and Malo Gusto’s absence from the starting lineup.
Robert Sanchez kept his first clean sheet in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge since September 2023. Whilst Ollie Watkins had a couple of wasted chances, the defence deserves recognition and plaudits. Sanchez has received multiple criticisms from fans and media, but today’s performance was a big improvement, making fewer silly errors that put the team in danger. Levi Colwill and Cucurella were solid, putting everything on the line to block any Aston Villa opportunities.
After an early error, Wesley Fofana grew into the game and became a brick wall at the back. Colwill played as the more aggressive defender, which gave the Frenchman more responsibility as the Blue’s last line of defence before the goalkeeper. Despite the great performance, he became the only negative for Chelsea after picking up an injury rumoured to be affecting his hamstring. This is even more disappointing after the work he has put in to maintain fitness after two tough years of struggling for fitness.
The result has maintained their third-place spot, level on points and goal difference with Arsenal and are two points ahead of Manchester City and Brighton at the time of writing.
Despite Maresca’s constant willingness to downplay Chelsea’s potential involvement in a title race, performances and results such as this will put the Blues in the title race conversations.
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