Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa suffered defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Nicolas Jackson fired the hosts into a seventh-minute lead when he turned home a Marc Cucurella cross.

Ollie Watkins was thwarted by Robert Sánchez either side of the Blues’ second goal, which arrived via the boot of Enzo Fernandez after 36 minutes.

Substitute Jhon Durán saw a header cleared off the goalline in the second half before Cole Palmer curled home late on.

Unai Emery’s side will now prepare for the visit of Brentford at Villa Park on Wednesday.

Jaden Philogene made his first Premier League start of the season in west London, while Villa were also boosted by the return of Ezri Konsa to the starting XI as they sought a third consecutive top flight win at Stamford Bridge.

However, the Blues have enjoyed a resurgence this season under Enzo Maresca and they hit the front with just seven minutes on the clock.

Chelsea worked a move down the left, with an overlapping Cucurella pulling the ball back into the path of Jackson, whose shot cannoned in off the near post.

Watkins, who scored in both of the aforementioned wins against the Londoners, had an excellent chance to level the scores on 15 minutes when he latched onto John McGinn’s through ball and got the better of Wesley Fofana, seeing his low shot was saved by Sánchez.

An indirect free-kick just outside the six-yard box offered the hosts a chance to extend their advantage, but Emi Martínez, who had handled a Pau Torres back pass, made amends by smothering Palmer’s shot.

The Argentine showed lightning-fast reflexes soon after to survive a hairy moment when Jackson cut out his pass, scrambling to get to the loose ball ahead of the forward and prevent him netting a second.

There was nothing the Villa ‘keeper could do to keep out his countryman Fernández after 36 minutes as the midfielder collected a pass from Palmer and struck a crisp half-volley into the bottom corner from just inside the box.

Some aggressive pressing from Morgan Rogers helped to create an opening for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, with his efforts leading to Philogene cross for Watkins, who called Sánchez into a smart stop.

Robin Olsen replaced Martínez at the break, and the Swede watched on as Jackson blazed a shot over the bar early in the second half.

Chances were few and far between as the teams battled it out in midfield, with Leon Bailey, Ross Barkley and Durán introduced to try and spark their side into life offensively.

The changes helped Villa find more rhythm going forward, and Durán was only stopped from scoring by a goalline clearance from Levi Colwill when he sent a header goalwards from a corner.

Chelsea had offered little attacking threat in the second half, but they wrapped the win up with seven minutes left when he curled home from the edge of the box.

Olsen made fine saves from João Felix and Noni Madueke in quick succession before the former headed over when presented with an open goal.