After putting on a dominant display on Wednesday that saw goals from Connor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernández secure a comfortable 3-1 win over Aston Villa, Chelsea continued to find comfort in the domestic cups. This earned them a fifth-round FA Cup matchup against Leeds United.
Before the midweek trip to Villa Park, manager Mauricio Pochettino was under fire following the Blues’ back-to-back crushing Premier League losses to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool, even though they had secured a spot in this month’s Carabao Cup final. But Chelsea put on a stunning show on one of their best evenings of the season to take advantage of a weak Villa team, whose lone goal came from Moussa Diaby in injury time. By then, though, the Blues had long since guaranteed their spot in the round of sixteen.
Both teams attempted to attack early in the game, but it was the visitors who succeeded after 11 minutes when Noni Madueke’s quick move down the left wing resulted in a pass being rolled back for Gallagher, who finished beautifully into Emiliano Martínez’s top corner. Chelsea extended their lead before Villa could even begin to consider how to get back into the match. Jackson, who had just returned from serving with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations, skillfully headed home a superb cross from Malo Gusto.
Villa was unable to concentrate only on attacking since Madueke was playing brilliantly for the visitors. As a result, they were frequently vulnerable to rapid counterattacks. Gallagher and Moisés Caicedo in midfield helped and abetted Fernández in his imperious control both in and out of possession, thus the hosts never came close to controlling the result.
Although the home crowd let out a few jeers as the first half came to a conclusion, nobody at Villa Park who was familiar with the form book would have predicted a comeback in the second half. Instead, just before the hour, Fernández won and then spectacularly converted a 25-yard free kick that curled beautifully into Martínez’s top corner, propelling the Blues even farther ahead.
Constantly aware of Chelsea’s threat on the break, Villa were unable to mount a meaningful threat until much later in the game. Álex Moreno missed the last, slim chance for the hosts to mount an unlikely comeback, and in added time, Diaby calmly rolled in a shot via the inside of the post. Against all odds, another surprise night of cup pleasure had been supplied by an increasingly unpredictable campaign for the Blues.
Advantages
He could see Pochettino’s approval everywhere he looked. The team’s performance was driven by relentless running and effort, but Jackson’s return from international duty, combined with Madueke’s best game since joining Chelsea, and Cole Palmer’s roaming threat, changed Chelsea’s attack and gave them a cutting edge that was too strong for Villa to handle. The midfield duo of Fernández and Caicedo was as brilliant, acting as an unbreakable barrier around a Blues defense that was little tested.
Adverse Effects
The Blues produced one of their most complete games to yet, without a single weakness in sight, in a season where poor evenings and blunders have always been lurking around the corner. Still, losing a clean sheet in injury time was as bad as it got.
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