Villa endured a pre-Christmas nightmare at Stamford Bridge as they crashed to an emphatic defeat by rampant Chelsea.
Paul Lambert's men headed to London full of confidence after the excellent 3-1 success at Liverpool but they were completely overwhelmed as Chelsea hit three goals before the interval and followed up with five more in the second half.
It could have been worse, too, Brad Guzan making a number of good saves including one from sub Lucas Piazon's 89th-minute penalty.
After their incisive display at Anfield, Villa were badly out of sorts and rarely threatened, their best effort coming from Andreas Weimann, whose shot went over off keeper Petr Cech's legs.
Fernando Torres, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic put Chelsea three-up by the 34th minute and after a brief respite either side of the break, the goal spree resumed on 58 minutes when skipper Frank Lampard scored on his 500th Chelsea appearance.
After that it simply got worse as Ramries pounced twice, Oscar converted a spot kick and Eden Hazard drove home an unstoppable shot.
Villa made the worst possible start, Torres climbing to meet Cesar Azpilicueta's right-wing cross with a powerful 12-yard header which left Guzan helpless as it flew into the top corner.
The breakthrough sent Chelsea's confidence soaring, the home side producing some entertaining football as they held the upper hand in the early stages.
Nathan Baker did well to get in the way of Juan Mata's drive as Villa struggled to get into their stride, and it was the 22nd minute before we saw any real threat from the visitors.
A smart counter attack involving Ashley Westwood, Weimann and Brett Holman ended with Christian Benteke having a shot charged down outside the penalty area.
But in the 29th minute Villa conceded a second after Chris Herd brought down Hazard four yards outside the penalty area.
Luiz couldn't have struck the resultant free-kick any better, the ball dipping over Villa's defensive wall and flying past Guzan's despairing dive.
There was another let-off in the 31st minute, Mata's free-kick deflecting off Baker for a corner but three minutes later Ivanovic made it 3-0, heading home from close range after Guzan had tipped away a shot on the turn from former Villa defender Gary Cahill.
After Guzan had held a 25-yard effort from Luiz, Barry Bannan tried his luck from 30 yards but the midfielder's shot was well over.
Chelsea were again on top at the start of the second half, Guzan saving well from Mata and Lampard, while a Torres shot deflected wide.
Villa responded with a menacing low cross from Matt Lowton, which Cahill slid away for a corner as Benteke lurked dangerously.
A minute later the Belgium international created space for a shot which went for a corner, but after Guzan had raced out to save from Victor Moses, Lampard increased the lead with a fierce low 25-yarder which flew just inside Guzan's right-hand post.
Substitute Stephen Ireland set up a good chance for Weimann in the 63rd minute, the Austrian's angled shot hitting Cech's boot and deflecting on to the bar, although Guzan again had to be alert to prevent Azpilicueta's low shot from sneaking inside his near post.
But the agony intensified when Ramires drilled home the fifth on 75 minutes and another of Chelsea's subs, Oscar, converted a penalty four minutes later after Herd was adjudged to have fouled him.
Hazard stunning shot made it 7-0 on 84 minutes and after Guzan had save Piazon's penalty, Ramires completed the scoring in stoppage time.
Chelsea:Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanavic, Cahill, Cole; Luiz, Lampard (Ramires 61), Moses, Mata (Piazon 74), Hazard; Torres (Oscar 67) Unused subs: Turnbull, Ferreira, Marin, Ake.
Villa: Guzan; Herd, Clark, Baker; Lowton, Holman (Bowery 79), Westwood (Ireland 56), Bannan, Lichaj (Bennett 56); Weimann, Benteke. Unused subs: Given, El Ahmadi, Albrighton, Delph.
Make sure you snap up your half season tickets.
