Chelsea made an impressive statement in their hunt for Champions League football as they came from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Villa Park.
A hat-trick from Joao Pedro ensured the Blues put Douglas Luiz’s second-minute opener behind them and coasted home to a crucial three points.
Cole Palmer also got in on the action to cap an excellent night for Liam Rosenior’s men as they move up to fifth in the Premier League table.
Rosenior makes first big call of his Chelsea tenure
The Blues boss has so far guarded against making big decisions in his first two months in charge.
But the self-inflicted manner of Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal last weekend facilitated a bit of soul-searching, and Rosenior responded by dropping goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to the bench for tonight’s trip to Villa Park.
Sanchez has, on the whole, enjoyed an impressive season, but his mistake for Jurrien Timber’s winner at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday was something straight out of the Spaniard’s old playbook.
That said, the decision to drop him still came as a shock, not least because of Filip Jorgensen’s lack of game time this season.
The Dane has started just once in the league and only returned to the bench for the first time since January against Arsenal following a spell out through injury.
Rosenior’s decision was ultimately vindicated, though, as Jorgensen delivered a sturdy performance to help keep Villa at bay after their fast start.
Decisive in coming off his line, he also made a couple of strong saves from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins to give Chelsea the platform to eventually take charge.
This was not a defining night for the Jorgensen versus Sanchez debate, but it was a defining moment for Rosenior’s reign.
Blues back in the hunt for Champions league football with statement victory
Chelsea’s Champions League prospects looked to be drifting away from them after their defeat at the weekend.
However, with Liverpool losing to bottom side Wolves yesterday, they were handed a timely lifeline.
Able to draw level on points with Arne Slot’s side, it was an opportunity they could not pass up, and for the first time in a while, the Blues made their dominance count as they turned the game on its head at Villa Park.
There were chances for Chelsea against a Villa side without a win in six in all competitions, but as has been the case for the visitors, it looked as though their execution in the final third was going to see them leave more points on the table.
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As the game edged towards half-time, however, the Blues turned on the style and made their dominance count as Joao Pedro netted twice to give Rosenior’s side the lead.
Pedro has taken his game to another level under the new Chelsea manager, and he showed expert timing to bundle in Gusto’s cross before beating the offside trap and lifting the ball deftly over Emiliano Martinez in first-half stoppage time.
Chelsea continued where they left off after the break, and scored through Palmer and Joao Pedro to put the game out of sight.
Rosenior’s side relentlessly punished Villa’s high line and now find themselves right back in the mix for Champions League football.
A tale of two strikers
Joao Pedro is loving life under Rosenior and has started to find his groove in front of goal at a crucial juncture of the season.
It is now eight goals in his last eight league games and 14 for the season for the Brazilian forward after a masterful performance at Villa Park.
Where Watkins found the offside flag to be a source of frustration, Joao Pedro treaded the tightrope to perfection and was rewarded when he latched onto Enzo Fernandez’s pass to lift the ball over Martinez.
The former Brighton man, who has more than repaid the £55million Chelsea paid for him last summer, had earlier shown good anticipation to get on the end of Gusto’s cross to level the scores.
The Brazilian had been on the end of everything in the first-half, and that continued after the break as he put Chelsea four up with just over an hour played.
The 24-year-old is not your typical striker, as he showed by dropping off to start the move that led to Palmer’s goal, but what he remains above all else is clinical, and he is quickly shedding the streaky tag he had carried from his earlier years in England.
