Chelsea vs. Aston Villa: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League Game
Oscar, Diego Costa and Willian scored the goals as Chelsea continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 victory at home to Aston Villa on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea went ahead in the seventh minute via Oscar, following good work from Willian on the right flank. The Blues then had to wait until the second half for more goals as Aston Villa defended resolutely to see out the first half. But Costa and Willian netted in the second half to seal the points.
The win keeps Chelsea atop the table with 16 points from their first six matches. Jose Mourinho's side remains unbeaten in the league and will host top-four rivals Arsenal next Sunday. First, though, the Blues will travel to Portugal to play Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League.
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"This game is perfect for Willian. And he, in return, has been perfect for it. Worked hard. Created chances.
— Dan Levene (@BluesChronicle) September 27, 2014"
Villa, meanwhile, have now lost their last two matches by identical 3-0 scorelines, following last week's 3-0 defeat at home to Arsenal. Paul Lambert's side had started the season in good form, with three wins in their first four matches, but up next is another daunting match against champions Manchester City next Saturday.
Chelsea have stormed to the top of the table in the early stages of the current season thanks in part to their ability to score goals in the early stages of games. Saturday was no exception, as the Blues produced a perfect start with the opening goal arriving in the seventh minute.
Branislav Ivanovic started the scoring move with a pass to Willian on the right, the latter bursting into the box and shooting from a tight angle. The shot was blocked, but the rebound rolled back to Willian, who, instead of shooting a second time, pulled back for Oscar at the edge of the six-yard box. Oscar swept in for a 1-0 Chelsea lead.
As noted by Squawka, no Premier League team has been as prolific in the opening 10 minutes of matches this season than Chelsea:
From there, it might have been reasonable to expect a rout. But despite conceding so quickly, Aston Villa defended well throughout the rest of the first half.
In the 15th minute, though, Willian found space on Chelsea's left flank after being freed by a Costa flick. Carrying the ball all the way into the box, Willian saw his shot from a tight angle deflected into the side netting.
Four minutes later, Villa had their first clear sight of goal as Aly Cissokho controlled a corner inside Chelsea's box. However, the defender hooked his shot wide of the post.
Costa then had a header saved in the 34th minute, but for the most part, Chelsea struggled to break down Villa for the rest of the first half.
The start of the second half saw Villa's Fabian Delph try his luck with a shot that missed the target from long distance in the 47th minute. Nine minutes later, Nathan Baker headed over the bar from a Villa free-kick.
For Chelsea, it was starting to add up to a nervy second-half spell. But moments later, the hosts netted their second goal after some excellent build-up play in the attacking third.
Willian and Eden Hazard carved out the opening with precise, one-touch interplay, setting up Cesar Azpilicueta to cross from the left. With time to pick his pass, the Spanish full-back curled the ball to Costa, who powered in his header for a 2-0 lead.
Chelsea came within inches of a third goal in the 63rd minute after a Costa pass deflected into Oscar's path along the edge of Villa's box. Oscar flicked the ball past the onrushing Brad Guzan, but Cissokho raced back to clear off Villa's line.
Despite the near miss, though, the second goal had lifted the tension at Stamford Bridge. In the following minutes, the home fans watched in delight as Chelsea stroked the ball around the pitch confidently, probing Villa for weaknesses in search of more goals. In the 67th minute, Hazard beat his defender twice near the byline before playing an incisive pass across the face of goal. Costa was lurking in the goalmouth, but the striker was unable to reach the ball to head in.
That was the final involvement for Hazard, who made way for substitute Andre Schurrle moments later. Villa countered with Darren Bent and Charles N'Zogbia, who replaced Kieran Richardson and Andreas Weimann in the attack. The visitors finally registered their first shot on target soon after, Alan Hutton firing low at Thibaut Courtois in the 69th minute.
There would be no comeback, though. Ten minutes later, Chelsea sealed the points with their third goal. Cesc Fabregas picked out Costa on the left flank with a long, angled pass over the top. Costa then cut inside and forced a save from Guzan with a powerful shot. The rebound fell to Willian, who tapped in at the back post for a 3-0 lead.
The third goal killed off any resistance Villa had left, and Chelsea saw out the final 10 minutes in complete comfort.
Grades
| Thibaut Courtois | 7.1 |
| Branislav Ivanovic | 7.4 |
| Gary Cahill | 7.1 |
| John Terry | 7.0 |
| Cesar Azpilicueta | 8.4 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 7.3 |
| Nemanja Matic | 7.5 |
| Willian | 8.4 |
| Oscar | 8.2 |
| Eden Hazard | 6.5 |
| Diego Costa | 8.3 |
| Andre Schurrle (for Hazard, 68') | 6.4 |
| John Obi Mikel (for Oscar, 77') | 6.2 |
| Loic Remy (for Costa, 81') | 6.0 |
| Brad Guzan | 7.0 |
| Alan Hutton | 6.7 |
| Philippe Senderos | 6.0 |
| Nathan Baker | 6.1 |
| Aly Cissokho | 6.5 |
| Tom Cleverley | 6.8 |
| Ashley Westwood | 6.3 |
| Fabian Delph | 6.9 |
| Andi Weimann | 6.1 |
| Gabriel Agbonlahor | 6.0 |
| Kieran Richardson | 6.3 |
| Darren Bent (for Richardson, 69') | 6.0 |
| Charles N'Zogbia (for Weimann, 69') | 5.9 |
Post-Match Reaction
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho (via ChelseaFC.com):
"I’m happy. In the first half we had a couple of important chances to score again but everything was under control.
The team were very solid and kept control of the game all the time. Even when it was 1-0, I don’t remember feeling fear, scared or uncomfortable. The second and third goals obviously killed the game but overall it was a very good performance.
…
We are playing well, we have different players scoring goals. We are scoring goals in different ways; the only way we haven’t scored is from a penalty, because we haven’t had a penalty. We are not perfect; we have a lot to improve, in every area of our game, but we are doing well.
"
