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Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Three lessons learnt in big win

By Akshat Mehrish

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 11: Thiago Silva of Chelsea blocks a shot from Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on September 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 11: Thiago Silva of Chelsea blocks a shot from Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on September 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea (obscured) celebrates with team mates after scoring their side’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on September 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea (obscured) celebrates with team mates after scoring their side’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on September 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

3. Kovacic shows signs of old

Saul’s evident troubles in his first game segue nicely into this final section. Like Saul, Kovacic was a player who needed time to sort his feet out and set into his new surroundings. Once he did, he looked unstoppable, and subsequently, he earned Chelsea’s Player of the Season award for 2019/20.

Last year, Kovacic was a far cry from the midfield metronome who swept up the Chelsea awards a season prior. The Croatian mostly played second fiddle to N’Golo Kante and Jorginho during Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel’s spells. However, Kovacic has again made a promising start to the new season and looks like a player much closer to the one who was voted the best a few years ago.

A goal and an assist against Aston Villa proved Kovacic’s value to the team amid all the Ballon d’Or talk surrounding Kante and Jorginho. The Croat slalomed his way out of Villa’s press and played a threaded through ball to Lukaku for Chelsea’s opening goal of the game. He then pounced upon a poor back pass from Tyrone Mings to his goalkeeper and calmly lifted the ball over the latter to score his first Chelsea goal at Stamford Bridge. What followed was wild celebrations, obviously.

Apart from the goal contributions, Kovacic also put in a controlled performance. He touched the ball 89 times in 90 minutes and finished with a passing accuracy of 85 percent. He produced one key pass, created one big chance, completed two of his five attempted dribbles, five of his six attempted long passes, and won five of his 10 ground duels. Rounding things off nicely were also his two clearances and two tackles.

With places in the Chelsea midfield limited and the quality constantly on the rise, Kovacic’s display against Villa is a timely reminder of his talents. The midfielder will fancy his chances of breaking into Tuchel’s starting squad during the season, provided he can stay fit.

Next. Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings: Romelu Lukaku brace at the Bridge. dark

What lessons did you learn from this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!

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