U18s: Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa were undone 3-1 at high-flying Chelsea in the Under-18 Premier League South on Saturday.

The Young Lions were up against it early on at Cobham Training Centre as the hosts opened the scoring inside 60 seconds and doubled their lead with just five minutes on the clock.

Chelsea added a third on the stroke of half-time but Harvey Rhoades reduced the deficit after the break as Villa continued to battle on despite eventually travelling back to the midlands empty handed.

They will now be looking to get back on track at home to Arsenal this weekend.

Jimi Tauriainen fired the Blues into the lead inside the first minute, playing a short one-two from a corner, surging into the penalty area and sending a shot into the far corner.

Chelsea soon doubled their advantage as they won possession in a dangerous area and Leo Castledine fed Ronnie Stutter, who raced through to slot home an early second.

Kadan Young sent a low right-footed strike just wide from the edge of the penalty area as the Villans looked to hit back, goalkeeper James Wright saving well from Stutter at the other end.

Wright then tipped over from Tudor Mendel-Idowu but was unfortunate to see a corner slip through his grasp for Chelsea's third just before the interval.

Villa came close to a quick response as Charlie Lutz forced a good save from Chelsea keeper Ted Curd, with the home side preserving their three-goal lead at half-time.

But the visitors did find a route back into the encounter in the 54th minute as left-back Rhoades carried the ball forward, lost possession, only to then win the ball back on the edge of the Blues box and coolly slot home between the legs of Curd.

Villa's Young Lions pushed for further reward but it was the home side who ran out victors.