Guus Hiddink Talks Alexandre Pato, Radamel Falcao, More After Chelsea Beat Villa

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink revealed striker Alexandre Pato has been "suffering" to prove his match fitness ever since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in January.

The Brazilian scored on his debut in the 4-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, and Hiddink said the players were happy to see him on the scoresheet after his fitness problems, per Chelsea’s official Twitter account:

Hiddink selected Loic Remy as the sole striker at Villa Park in the absence of the suspended Diego Costa, but an injury to the Frenchman gave Pato his chance.

And it’s one he seized with both hands. The striker was fouled in the box just before half-time, and he took on the responsibility himself to net from the penalty spot.

Cesc Fabregas looked the likely candidate for penalty duty, but he handed the ball to Pato to give him the chance to open his Chelsea account. Bleacher Report’s Garry Hayes commented on the gesture:

Pato’s overall performance was impressive on the day, and Hiddink said he was pleased to see the striker in action after previously lacking a "basic physical condition," per journalist Dan Levene:

Pato looked to be an ideal solution for Chelsea’s goal-shy problems when he arrived at Stamford Bridge, and many fans were left scratching their heads as to why he wasn’t getting any game time.

But it seems Chelsea just needed time to get the Brazilian up to match sharpness, and Hiddink told reporters the club put him through a vigorous training programme, via Levene:

While Pato was on the Villa Park pitch making a name for himself in a Chelsea shirt, misfiring frontman Radamel Falcao was forced to watch from the sidelines again.

The Colombian has made just nine appearances for the Blues this term, according to WhoScored.com, with eight of those coming from the substitutes’ bench.

Costa’s suspension gave Falcao a chance to force his way into Hiddink’s lineup, but Remy and Pato are seemingly above him in the pecking order. The Dutch manager said that the forward needs to give him a selection headache with performances in training:

Despite playing a side seemingly down and out, Chelsea did a professional job on Villa with a heavily changed side.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring for the Blues and put together a sterling display, and Hiddink said that he, along with other Chelsea youngsters, will be given a chance to shine in the coming weeks:

The Blues may be enduring a disastrous campaign, but securing a place in the UEFA Champions League next season with a top-four finish isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

Chelsea take on struggling Swansea City next time out, when we’ll likely see more of Pato and the club’s exciting young guns.