This might have been construed as the first meaningless game of the season, but at least Chelsea recorded something of note to pile another layer of misery on Aston Villa. It took 63 days for Alexandre Pato to make his first Chelsea appearance, but the Brazilian needed only 22 minutes to break his duck as the visitors finished with three debutants.
Matt Miazga, a January acquisition from New York Red Bulls, also made his bow, starting at centre-half, while Jake Clarke-Salter was given 15 minutes. Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed for 90 minutes in an attacking midfield role, providing proof that despite a season to forget, Chelsea have something to look forward to in the near future.
For Villa, the horizon is far more bleak. There was a new man in charge – albeit temporarily – in Eric Black, but it was the same pitiful story. Only Jordan Ayew showed any fight and it said much that the disgruntled home fans were barely surprised to witness another embarrassing defensive surrender. Villa have long been down, but their relegation could be confirmed as early as next week depending on the results of Norwich and Crystal Palace.
It is hard not to feel sorry for the supporters who are still turning up to witness a weekly horror show from a team containing more Villains than Villans. “Proud history. What future?” read several hundred pieces of paper displayed on the Holte End before kick-off. A scrawled bedsheet behind the opposite goal went further: “No fight, no pride, no effort, no hope”.
“It’s not pleasant,” Black said of the rancourous atmosphere. “I’m only here a couple of months but it’s not been overly enjoyable. However, I can fully understand it.”
Their quest between now and May must solely be to restore some pride but Black said: “A massive turnaround is required at the club and people need to understand it’s going to take time.”
Such has been the absence of quality here this season that when Villa strung a few passes together after 20 minutes shouts of “Olé” went up from all four stands. That was as good as things got. After the move broke down, to a predictable chorus of sarcastic boos, Cesc Fàbregas pitched forward to Pedro, who was marginally offside before lofting the ball over Brad Guzan. His tasty finish was correctly scratched out.
Chelsea did not have to wait much longer for the opener, but first came the arrival of Pato, who replaced Loïc Rémy after 23 minutes due to a groin and tendon injury.
Guus Hiddink said there was a temptation to throw Pato in a few weeks earlier “but he would have been killed”. The Brazilian’s impact when finally sprung was almost instant, starting the move for Loftus-Cheek’s first league goal. It was Mikel John Obi who displayed the samba-like dance moves, though, jigging past Carlos Sánchez and Ashley Westwood and then feeding Pedro, who found César Azpilicueta. The defender’s cross from the right was met by Loftus-Cheek, taking a deflection off Joleon Lescott en route.
Ayew did have a couple of chances to equalise denied by Thibaut Courtois but the result was, as Hiddink said, “over” when Pato was brainlessly hauled down in the penalty area by Aly Cissokho in first-half injury-time. Pato slotted the penalty to Guzan’s right.
Fifty-one seconds of the second half had elapsed when Pedro deepened Villa’s wound, finishing off a lovely move involving Pato and the half-time substitute, Oscar and Pedro scored his second when tapping in after Guzan parried an elementary save from Pato before the hour mark.
The four-goal gap allowed Hiddink to bring Clarke-Salter on for the final stages. “It’s good to see [young players] coming in,” the interim manager said. “I always like to bring in youngsters and we have the rest of the season to bring in guys more frequently.”
Guzan was greeted by ironic cheers when he managed to smother a tame Branislav Ivanovic free-kick 11 minutes from the end, while Alan Hutton was shown a second yellow by Neil Swarbrick after a late tackle on Loftus-Cheek five minutes from time.
By that point Villa’s fans had found more entertainment in a paper plane contest from the aforementioned protest material. Some of them even found their target.
