Chelsea turned in a performance not too dissimilar to the back-half of their title-winning campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over a struggling Aston Villa outfit overnight.
The Blues were still far from their peak, but did enough to outplay Tim Sherwood’s men in key areas throughout the game. Villa did not help themselves though, with Chelsea’s opener caming via loose distribution from Brad Guzan, before an unfortunate deflection off of Alan Hutton’s boot sealed the ever so vital three points for the champions and lifted some of the pressure away from Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea
Asmir Begovic – 6: Was rarely called upon over the 90 minutes in an easy day for the Bosnian.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7: Moved to right-back at the expense of the grossly out of form Branislav Ivanovic. Made a great block to deny Villa a path back into the game after a scramble from a set piece.
Kurt Zouma – 7: Looks far more comfortable alongside the vastly experienced John Terry, this could well be Mourinho’s favoured centre-back pairing if his skipper can return to the form he showed last season.
John Terry – 7: What could be considered a typically fuss-free performance from the Chelsea captain ,nearly looping a deep Willian set piece over Guzan in the second-half. This performance will have boosted his confidence.
Abdul Baba Rahman – 7: Took over Azpilicueta’s left-side. A good performance in a big game for the young Ghanaian who is still trying to make his way into the first team. He was tested more for pace when Adama Traore entered the fray but should be pleased with his Premier League debut.
Cesc Fabregas – 6: The 100-time capped Spaniard played the link-up role rather than playmaker. This may have been a move from Mourinho to help get Fabregas back into form and while he made no major errors against the Villans, only time will tell if it works.
Aston Villa
Brad Guzan – 5: A terrible ball out from the back allowed Willian and Chelsea in for the opening goal. Could not do much about the second that tumbled in after a deflection from his full back.
Alan Hutton – 6: Will unfortunately have to claim the own goal in the second-half but performed admirably otherwise, forcing Chelsea to attack primarily down the left. His final cross needed improvement though.
Micah Richards – 6.5: Continued his impressive return to the English Premier League. Did all he could to marshall the defence soundly throughout, but each mistake was made around him.
Joleon Lescott – 6: Could not do too much about Guzan’s catastrophic ball out from his line, yet he broke up several Chelsea forays into attack during the second-half.
Kieran Richardson – 5.5: Tried his hardest all afternoon, but was given a torrid time in patches by a Willian in sparkling form. Was replaced following consecutive fouls and a first-half yellow card.
Idrissa Gueye – 6: Went unnoticed for the majority of the 90 minutes which something that central defensive midfielders thrive on doing at times, able to do just enough to keep his side ticking over and competitive in the middle park.
The returning Diego Costa played a key role as Chelsea earned a much-needed win over struggling Aston Villa.
The striker tapped in Willian's pass midway through the first half after defender Joleon Lescott's mis-control gifted the ball to the home side.
It was a welcome break for the Blues, who doubled their lead when Villa's Alan Hutton deflected in Costa's shot.
Chelsea, 16th in the table at the start of the day, were not at their best - but Villa offered little.
What contributions Tim Sherwood's side did make to the game were all in Chelsea's favour as they repeatedly gave the ball away and were punished accordingly.
They remain in 18th place and without a win in their past eight matches.
Chelsea's second home win of the season moves them up to 11th in the table, five points behind fourth place.
Five keys to success
In May, BBC Sport suggested five areas key to Chelsea's title win last season: Costa's goals, the creativity of their midfield, their defensive steel, winning mentality and the influence of manager Jose Mourinho.
The Blues' poor start to this season - which prior to this match was their worst since 1978 - is as much down to a failure of this crucial quintet.
Costa had not scored enough, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard created little and they had conceded two or more goals in seven of their eight games.
Their edge was gone and, from the outside at least, their boss seemed more focused on criticising his recent Football Association fine than defending the title.
While Saturday was far from a return to the ruthless form of last season, it did showcase a notable improvement on previous home games.
Costa scored on his return from a three-match ban for violent conduct, the midfield - which included 19-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek until his removal at the break - offered more, they kept their first clean sheet in five games and saw the game out professionally.
Chelsea's desire was epitomised in one incident, 20 minutes from time when a group of Blues defenders flung themselves at the feet of Lescott to prevent him poking the ball in from close range to give Villa a foothold back in the game.
Villans in need of some heroes
Sherwood only took over at Villa in February, after which he saved them from relegation and led them to the FA Cup final - achievements that should earn him time in his job.
They started reasonably well at Stamford Bridge, keeping Chelsea at bay with a packed midfield and occasionally breaking with purpose, albeit with no end product.
Jack Grealish was lively for 20 minutes on his return to the side and Rudy Gestede proved a physical challenge for Blues captain John Terry on the few occasions the ball came near him.
But Sherwood - and his bosses - should be concerned by the mistakes that regularly gifted Chelsea possession and ultimately the win, as well as the way the players meekly accepted a fifth straight defeat once Costa's low shot had found the net off Hutton's boot.
'Chelsea are together and ready to fight'
"We are not the best team in the country, but we are a team with a very good manager and very good players trying to reach a normal level," said Chelsea boss Mourinho.
"This was a performance to compensate for a lack of confidence and self-esteem. When confidence is not high you lose quality. Tactically we were very disciplined today, especially defensively.
"This was a great team performance with some fantastic individual performances. My players showed their desire, that they are together and that they were ready to fight for a crucial result."
'We won't shrink into corners and cry'
Aston Villa boss Sherwood said: "We played on the front foot here at the Bridge, we matched them initially. We believe we'll stay in this division, though it's clear for everyone to see that we're a side in transition.
"I will stand at the front and take the brunt of it. I don't want my players shrinking and running into the corners and crying - that's what's expected of me, and I won't do that.
"I didn't hear my supporters shouting for me to leave. I'll keep swinging, even if I'm backed into a corner."
Man of the match: Chelsea's Diego Costa
The stats you need to know
- Jose Mourinho has still never lost successive home league games as a manager.
- Before this game, the two outfield players on the longest current run of starts in the Premier League were Branislav Ivanovic (63 starts) and Eden Hazard (47 starts). They were both left out of the starting XI in this match.
- Willian has had a hand in a goal in each of his past three Premier League appearances (two goals, one assist) - this after not scoring or assisting in his previous 13 Premier League games for Chelsea.
- Three of the nine own goals in the Premier League this season have been in favour of Chelsea.
- Villa have not kept a Premier League clean sheet at Stamford Bridge since March 1998, conceding 32 times in their last nine trips to the West London ground.
- Chelsea have scored in their past 24 home league matches; also the longest current run of its kind in the Premier League.
What next?
Chelsea return to action when they travel to face group leaders Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday. Villa host Swansea in the Premier League next Saturday.
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (4) & SUBSTITUTIONS (5)
Chelsea
- 01 Begovic
- 28 Azpilicueta
- 05 Zouma
- 26 Terry
- 06 Baba
- 07 Ramires
- 04 Fàbregas
- 22 Willian Booked (Remy - 92' )
- 36 Loftus-Cheek (Matic - 45' )
- 17 Pedro (Hazard - 83' )
- 19 Diego Costa
Substitutes
- 08 Oscar
- 10 Hazard
- 12 Mikel
- 18 Remy
- 21 Matic
- 24 Cahill
- 27 Blackman
Aston Villa
- 01 Guzan
- 21 Hutton
- 04 Richards
- 16 Lescott
- 18 Richardson Booked (Amavi - 64' )
- 15 Westwood
- 08 Gueye
- 25 Gil
- 40 Grealish Booked
- 19 J Ayew Booked (Traoré - 68' )
- 39 Gestede
Substitutes
- 07 Bacuna
- 09 Sinclair
- 20 Traoré
- 23 Amavi
- 24 Sánchez
- 31 Bunn
- 33 Crespo
Ref: Roger East
Att: 41,596
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