At fulltime it ended Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0 and it was a match of debuts, first goals and patience that saw the blues leave Stamford Bridge with all three points. Saul made his debut that ended quite unceremoniously which I will allude to later on, Romelu Lukaku made his second home debut and Mateo Kovacic scored his first goal Stamford Bridge. So you could say it was straightforward win for Chelsea well that isn’t entirely the case. There were spells of Aston Villa pressure that made it looked likely that they would of scored but thankfully due to resilient defending and Edouard Mendy brilliance that did not happen. Despite the pressure, the players always found a way out and closed the game out in the second half with two goals that put the result out of doubt. There was a lot of rotation and the team still performed at the high level they have shown this season so far and that is really a testament to the talent that is littered within this squad.
With that all being said here are the player ratings from Chelsea 3, Aston Villa 0.
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 9/10
Absolutely incredible are the words to sum up Edouard Mendy performance in goal today, from double saves to putting his body in front of everything to make sure a clean sheet is the end result. Aston Villa had the majority of the chances throughout the game and Mendy was the busiest of the two goalkeepers but he dealt with all the pressure tremendously alongside the three in front of him. Another clean sheet and another statement by Chelsea’s number 1.
Trevor Chalobah (Centerback): 8/10
Who needs Kounde when you have Trevor Chalobah? With all seriousness though, Trevor Chalobah looks amazing in this defense and doesn’t look out of place at all. We all know he can play in the midfield because his passing is superb but his defending is just as good and should be under consideration for selection every game from here forward.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8.5/10
We all thought that Thiago Silva was going to miss out on this game but at the final hour the decision was made to allow all the Brazilian players play and thankfully it did. He hasn’t featured much this season but his leadership with no Azpilicueta on the pitch was much needed in sorting the defense out when Villa were putting the pressure on. The block on Ollie Watkins shot that was destined to go in was amazing by Silva to block it with his chest rather than his arm and he will be a valuable leader to this team this season.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 8/10
Antonio Rudiger just did what he always does and that is be a spark plug to this defense and this team. His no nonsense defending and interactions with likes of John McGinn and Ezri Konsa really show how valuable he is to this team and another clean sheet and win is thanks to him as well.