Aston Villa v Chelsea player ratings

Joao Pedro scored a hat-trick as Chelsea crushed Aston Villa. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 4-1 victory. 

Filip Jorgensen: 7

Played instead of Robert Sanchez as Liam Rosenior switched his goalkeepers. Beaten from close range by Douglas Luiz inside three minutes, but did look more comfortable with the ball at his feet, playing out from the back. Commanded his box at times and was solid when called upon after that early goal.

Malo Gusto: 8

Pushed high for much of the match, and offered a good option down the right for Chelsea attacks. Provided the assist for Joao Pedro’s equaliser with a brilliant ball, which was drilled into the six-yard box for his teammate to turn home.

Wesley Fofana: 7

Had a fair amount of work to do on his return from suspension, and perhaps could have been stronger as he tried to stop Luiz from scoring the opener. Solid enough after that and was rested for the final 10 minutes with Chelsea comfortable.

Trevoh Chalobah: 7

Played well and made a key challenge to stop Ollie Watkins from getting Villa back in the game early in the second half. The striker had taken the ball past Jorgensen and was about to pull the trigger to make it 3-2, but was put under enough pressure by Chalobah that he fluffed his lines.

Jorrel Hato: 7

Struggled early on and was beaten too easily on the left as Leon Bailey provided the low cross for Villa’s opener. Was occasionally caught in possession too, but combined well with teammates going forward and picked up decent attacking positions at times.

Reece James: 7

Had a huge escape before half-time, when he gave the ball away on the edge of Villa’s box. The hosts went up the other end with a sweeping counter-attack, but Watkins was offside by a toenail before finishing. James was then involved in Chelsea’s third goal, with a good overlapping run that allowed him to fire in a cross that was dealt with poorly by Emi Martinez.

Moises Caicedo: 7

Went about his business as usual and did plenty of work in defensive midfield, which allowed Enzo Fernandez to provide a more creative spark further up the field.

Cole Palmer: 9

Close to being back to his glittering best and scored Chelsea’s third when he beat Martinez with a controlled, low volley after the Argentine goalkeeper parried the ball into his path. Also played in Garnacho with a brilliant lofted pass that put the visitors in a two-on-one position, which saw him square it for Pedro.

Enzo Fernandez: 8

Had a hand in Chelsea’s two first-half goals. Played an eye-catching ball over the top of the Villa defence to Gusto, which helped set up the equaliser. Then provided an assist himself when he found Pedro with a smart pass into a tight area that took four players out of the game.

Alejandro Garnacho: 8

Brightest player in the first half. Did plenty of good work down the left wing and provided dangerous balls into the box. Was involved in the build-up to Chelsea’s second goal, and provided the assist for the fourth, with a smart cut-back that allowed Pedro to complete his hat-trick.

Joao Pedro: 10

Unplayable all night and tapped in the first of three to cap a move that saw Gusto provide the killer ball. His second goal was seriously impressive and came on the stroke of half-time, when he dinked past a helpless Martinez and into the far corner, while surrounded by defenders. Pedro completed his hat-trick with another simple finish into an empty net, after good play from Garnacho and Palmer.

Romeo Lavia: 6

Played the final 15 minutes at Villa Park, which will no doubt be valuable as he looks to win back a place in Rosenior’s team.