Chelsea player ratings vs Aston Villa: Joao Pedro shines as Alejandro Garnacho seizes chance | OneFootball

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Douglas Luiz gave Villa the lead inside two minutes as he flicked home Leon Bailey's low cross, but Joao Pedro equalised 10 minutes before half time as he bundled home Malo Gusto's delivery.

Sam Tabuteau rated the Chelsea players at Villa Park...

Trevoh Chalobah 7: Made a superb tackle to deny Villa a route back into the game at 3-1 and also did well to lean on Ollie Watkins as he let fly in the first-half.

Wesley Fofana 7: Drawn into a physical battle early on by Watkins, but responded well to the challenge and gave Chelsea plenty of assurance in defence and in possession as they built out from the back confidently.

Jorrel Hato 7: Took the applause of his teammates after darting back to dispossess Morgan Rogers in the box in the 80th minute. His efforts late on were a sign of Chelsea's relentlessness all night.

Moises Caicedo 6: Kept things tidy, misplacing just two of his 57 passes, but did not need to be at his industrious best as Chelsea quickly took charge after their early setback.

Reece James 6: Not at his best and was lucky not to get punished for a lapse pass that eventually led to Watkins' effort being ruled offside. Grew into the game, though, and was heavily involved in Chelsea's third.

Cole Palmer 9: It looked like it might be a frustrating night for the Englishman when he hesitated on the ball after being put clean through early on. No matter, Chelsea romped home to victory in the end, and Palmer got his goal as he hammered home from Emi Martinez's parry.

Freezing cold: Cole Palmer

REUTERS

Enzo Fernandez 7: Fernandez is at his best when he marries guile and gallantry. As strong in the tackle as he was deft in his pass selection, it was his neat through ball that allowed Joao Pedro to give Chelsea the lead.

Alejandro Garnacho 9: One of four changes made by Rosenior, he had Villa's defence on the backfoot all night. He got his reward for an excellent performance when he squared for Joao Pedro to net his hat-trick.

Joao Pedro 10: Has now scored home and away against Villa, with his hat-trick helping a dominant Chelsea seize the advantage in the first-half. Made an excellent run to meet Gusto's cross, before beating the offside trap to lift over Martinez. Completed his hat-trick with the simplest of finishes.

Subs:

Marc Cucurella 7: A timely return from injury on a night where everything went right for Chelsea. Nearly assisted Garnacho as he became the latest in a long list of Chelsea players to break in behind Villa's defence.

Romeo Lavia 6: More crucial minutes for the midfielder. Chelsea are wrapping him in cotton wool right now, but when fit he is among the best in the division in his position.

Tosin Adarabioyo 6: Made the most headed clearances of any Chelsea player despite his late introduction. Played a small but not unimportant role for Chelsea as they held on to what they had.

Andrey Santos N/A: Neat in possession, but little more, as Chelsea had already wrapped up the points.

Liam Delap N/A: Took just two touches as he entered the pitch late on. He will have a tough time displacing Joao Pedro after tonight.

Unused subs: Sanchez, Badiashile, Sarr, Guiu