As these teams emerged for kick-off, the Holte End displayed a tifo proudly flaunting Aston Villa’s deck of cards, chiefly an ace of clubs. By the end, however, their upper hand in the race for the Champions League felt rather hollow, if not diminished. Chelsea had dismantled Unai Emery’s side to move within three points of Villa, João Pedro scoring a hat-trick to take his tally to 17 goals for the season.
The Brazil striker was in the mood for a fourth and tried his luck with an audacious overhead-kick, while Emiliano Martínez prevented Alejandro Garnacho from adding a bruising fifth late on. For Villa and their grand aspirations, it was a sobering evening, even if Manchester United’s late defeat to Newcastle surely softened the blow.
It was Liam Rosenior who shuffled his pack, dropping Robert Sánchez with the goalkeeper culpable for both goals in defeat at Arsenal last Sunday, but while Chelsea trailed after two minutes Filip Jörgensen was rarely troubled on just his third league appearance of the season. Cole Palmer added Chelsea’s third from just inside the 18-yard box and when João Pedro exhibited his anime face-mask goal celebration for the final time after finding a fourth, every outfield Chelsea player joined the party.
Chelsea climbed a place to fifth, Villa and United, also only three points ahead, in their sights with nine games to go. As Chelsea’s players savoured the victory, it was impossible to escape the sense this was a notable triumph. “It’s only significant if we back it up,” Rosenior said. “We have to be consistent. We have a massive FA Cup game [against Wrexham on Saturday], then a huge game in Paris [in the Champions League] and then against Newcastle. If we perform at that level, we’re going to be in a good place. It’s not just Aston Villa we’re behind and chasing.”
João Pedro’s second, dispatched into the far inside pocket of Martínez’s goal after latching on to Enzo Fernández’s cute pass, Rosenior said, was a world-class finish and only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago and Antoine Semenyo have outscored the Brazilian in the league this season. “I’m also delighted with his two tap-ins, because he was in the right place at the right time and we’ve worked really hard on that,” said Rosenior of a player who has nine goals in his past nine games.
Emery dismissed the notion of pressure eating at his players after defeat at Wolves last Friday and despite seizing an early lead here through Douglas Luiz, from there they appeared overawed by the occasion. Emery has been at pains to project positivity but perhaps it was a tactic given there was no way of dressing up this as an occasion. The prize on offer – the chance to move nine points clear of a direct rival – meant it was hard not to consider this Villa’s biggest match of the season.
Villa fluffed their lines and, ominously, they have now won only one of their past five home league matches, having won the previous eight. “We knew before the match it was a very good opportunity,” Emery said. “We are accepting that we are in a bad moment ... I was watching when we were losing 4-1 trying to understand how we can find a solution to recover confidence, energy and structure.
“If we lost something in the past two months, it is my responsibility. We are still three points in front of Chelsea ... which means we have been doing something well, but not now.”
Things started so well for Villa, Douglas Luiz flicking past Jörgensen to open the scoring but Chelsea equalised on 35 minutes. Fernández flighted a pass behind the Villa back line for Malo Gusto, whose perfect cross allowed João Pedro a simple finish.
Then came a potential turning point approaching the interval, Ollie Watkins’s strike ruled out after the video assistant referee highlighted his kneecap offside. Watkins wore a look of disgust and the locals shared their feelings as the semi-automated offside image was displayed on the big screens in opposite corners.
A creaking Villa unravelled, João Pedro earning the visitors the lead in first-half stoppage time with an effortless finish and Chelsea breezed clear in the second. Villa grew frustrated, aware of the implications of defeat. Soon after Palmer made it 3-1, Morgan Rogers was booked for booting the ball against the advertising hoardings.
João Pedro was again at the heartbeat of the goal, biding his time centrally to pick the right pass. The Brazilian located Palmer, who spied Reece James on the overlap and when the Chelsea captain sent the ball into the box, Martínez inadvertently pushed it into Palmer’s path. Palmer, blinkers on, rattled his shot low into the Villa net.
Midway through the second half, with the match descending into something of a non-event, João Pedro claimed the match ball. Villa appeared paralysed as Chelsea again feasted on Villa’s high line. Released on goal, Garnacho eliminated an exposed Martínez after squaring the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where João Pedro waited for the easiest finish of the lot, converting into an empty net.
