Chelsea vs Aston Villa: The One that Chelsea Won

No Cesc, you don't get assists when Own Goal scores

Like spotting a Yeti, fans at Stamford Bridge were treated to a rare sighting on Saturday - Vin Diesel. And almost as good as that was - a win! Huzzah!! It was touch and go at times, but Saturday’s relegation battle saw Chelsea come away with all three points and reach the dizzying heights of 11th in the table! That’s right boys and girls — Chelsea are within touching distance of that elusive half of the table. And if that wasn't enough - they're almost evens on goal differential. No longer the worst defense in the league. Hope you lot got your pints in.

If ever there was a team that Chelsea needed to face in midst of - we'll call it a slump - it would be Aston Villa. The hosts have outscored Villa 13-1 in their last 3 visits and Tactics Tim has been struggling. And by struggling I mean taking 1 point from his last 21 going into Saturday's match. Not to say there was a hope in hell of another 8-0 appearing out of the mist … Chelsea are not Newcastle. But with his back firmly planted against the wall, Tim Sherwood was always going to play conservatively - despite the teams that have come to Stamford Bridge before Villa this season and just had a proper go.
Nemanja Matic made way in the starting XI for Ruben Loftus-Cheek while Eden Hazard was replaced for ‘tactical’ reasons. Pedro was dispatched in place of the ebullient Belgian to help out with the defensive work. One would have presumed those defensive sensibilities of Pedro were meant to become apparent at some point during this ... Mourinho was forced to change up the back four and looked to appease the many Augsburg aficionados amongst the Chelsea faithful. It was my assumption that Baba Rahman was meant to be playing the part of a full-back Saturday ...


Ruben Loftus-Cheek did a decent job in the first half - he may not have the composure of 2014/15 Matic, but he is looking confident and I expect to see more of him as the season progresses. Getting taken off at half time seemed a bit harsh, but hopefully one that has positive repercussions for both RLD and Matic. Pedro managed to crop up in a lot of positions on the pitch, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what he was actually doing but 'he put himself about'. I sense the next place he finds himself will be the bench. As for Baba Rahman - he was absolutely owned by goal-scoring hero Alan Hutton so probably the less said the better. Get well soon Branislav!

Reinstated from his most recent ban, Diego Costa managed to capitalise on whatever Brad Guzan was doing when he attempted to clear Willian’s shot. It was also nice that Costa took the opportunity to  show his softer side when he attempted to spoon Ashley Westwood. Westwood initially rejected his advances, but let’s be honest, he was just upset that he wasn’t the big spoon.

Willian again looked like the player who would occasionally turn out for Shakhtar Donetsk in those Thursday night cup matches to embarrass ALL the English teams. Has he stepped up his game or has everyone else just lowered their own standards? Is he simply preparing for Chelsea’s Europa League run next season? Only he knows. Either way, Will.I.An and Ramires have been the stand out players — bar one.

Who is that mysterious player of the season for Chelsea? It’s only that saucy little minx Own Goal. Own Goal has definitely flirted with a number of sides over the years, but it was quite a coup for Chelsea to land his services this summer. Th lack of coverage on the deal is shocking. On Saturday, OG became Chelsea’s top scorer in the Premier League this season netting his third and overtaking both Willian and Costa. Hopefully he can take his prolific domestic form into Europe!

jb xx
@cfc_jb #YokohamaOut