It initially looked like it could be a tough evening for the Blues in Birmingham, against an Aston Villa side who have been enjoying a promising campaign so far. When Douglas Luiz turned in a cross from close range to give them the lead inside the first three minutes, our task got even harder.

That was until our Brazilian striker intervened with a top-class performance to take his tally of goals for the season to 17. In the space of 10 minutes at the end of the first half he turned the game upside down, converting a Malo Gusto cross, then combining excellently with Enzo Fernandez to put us ahead at the break.

After half-time, we stretched our advantage, as Cole Palmer drove in a half-volley from the edge of the box and Joao Pedro tapped in his third of the game from Alejandro Garnacho's unselfish pass. That meant what had briefly looked like a tough trip to Villa Park ended with a comfortable victory for the Blues, and a big three points in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.

The selection

The most notable of the three changes from the loss to Arsenal came between the posts, where Filip Jorgensen came in for his third Premier League appearance of the season. Ahead of our goalkeeper, Wesley Fofana returned in place of Mamadou Sarr, while Malo Gusto lined up on the right, with Trevoh Chalobah and Jorrel Hato completing the back four.

Captain Reece James shifted to midfield, alongside Moises Caicedo, with Enzo Fernandez continuing ahead of them. Alejandro Garnacho got the nod to replace suspended Pedro Neto, with Cole Palmer on the opposite flank and Joao Pedro leading our attack once again.

There were signs of intent from Chelsea at Villa Park right from the start, as the game began in the kind of roaring atmosphere you would expect when two sides competing for a Premier League top-four spot go head-to-head.

The combination between Palmer and Joao Pedro looked promising right from the start, as they exchanged passes to launch a counter-attack, which eventually resulted in an early corner for the Blues. However, it was the home side who made their mark on the game first.

Early set-back

After the initial attack was halted by Chalobah, the loose ball fell back to Morgan Rogers for the home side to have another go. This time they made it count, feeding the ball out to Leon Bailey on the right. When he drove and cut a pass back across goal, Ollie Watkins left it for Douglas Luiz to get there first and turn it into the back of the net from close range.

Chelsea tried to hit back immediately as the lively start to this game continued. In a spell of pressure on the Villa box immediately after, Garnacho curled a dangerous cross towards the back post, where Joao Pedro did well to head it down across goal, but Emiliano Martinez reacted quickly to save.

There were down loud appeals for a Chelsea penalty, when James went down under a challenge from Ian Maatsen in the box, but they were waved away and VAR decided not to intervene. Palmer then tested Martinez again with a curling effort from just outside the box, but as we reached the midway point in the first half Chelsea were still looking for an equaliser.

In an open first half there were let offs at both ends, as Garnacho fired his effort straight at Martinez after good work by Palmer, before Villa countered from the keeper’s long kick and Watkins did the exact same thing just seconds later.

Turning it around by the break

Chelsea kept pushing and that pressure paid off with the equalising goal 10 minutes before half-time. It was a slick move full of precision as two incisive passes cut Aston Villa open. First Fernandez lifted the ball over the back line into the path of Gusto, charging into the box through the right channel. The Frenchman timed his own pass perfectly, driving low across goal for Joao Pedro to slide in from close range at the back post.

Half-chances continued to come in this entertaining match. Ezri Konsa was inches away from sending Garnacho's low cross into his own net, while Watkins had a goal ruled out by VAR for a very narrow offside call as Villa continued to show their threat on the counter.

Just as it looked like the teams would go in for the break level, Joao Pedro stuck again deep into eight minutes of added time to give the Blues the lead for the first time at Villa Park. Garnacho did well out on the left to find Fernandez on the edge of the box.

Under pressure in a crowd of Villa defenders, he did brilliantly to lift a pass between the bodies to release Joao Pedro in the box. The striker's composed finish matched the pass, scooping the ball first-time over the onrushing Martinez. Two quickfire goals from the Brazilian, and Chelsea had gone from a goal down after 35 minutes to a goal up at half-time.

Finishing the job

Things were set up for another entertaining 45 minutes of football as the players remerged for the second half, with Chelsea's patient play and intricate passing in the final third contrasting to Aston Villa's lightning-quick counter-attacks, but meant both teams carried plenty of threat.

After fighting back to take the lead, the job was by no means done quite yet against a team which started the day in fourth place in the Premier League table, especially on their own turf. We had the momentum firmly behind us now, though, and before long the Blues had extended our advantage.

Our third goal arrived 10 minutes into the second half, this time thanks to a counter-attack of our own. Caicedo did well to intercept just inside our half, and we quickly worked the ball forward via Joao Pedro and Palmer. Martinez got strong hands to James' cross, but could only punch it towards Palmer, who ruthlessly drilled his half-volley low into the net.

Hat-trick hero

The confidence had visibly drained from the home players and any remaining belief within the Villa ranks that they could salvage something from this game they had led after two minutes soon evaporated for good, when Joao Pedro ensured he would be taking the match ball home to west London with him.

Caicedo and Palmer had major roles to play in the goal again, the Ecuadorian spraying a delightful pass out to Gusto in space on the right. He fed Palmer, who opened up Villa with perfectly weighted pass over the defence to release Garnacho. The winger bore down on goal from an angle, but unselfishly squared it to take Martinez out of the game and allow Joao Pedro to tap into the empty net.

Aston Villa made a number of attacking changes in an attempt to find some way back into the game, with Ross Barkley, Jadon Sancho, Alysson and Tammy Abraham all being introduced, but there was no coming back for the Clarets now.

Chelsea were never likely to let a three-goal lead slip as the home fans began to filter out of the stadium early. They knew the damage had been done, and the Blues did well to see things out professionally, barely giving Villa a sniff of a consolation goal during the closing stages. Their only real chance saw Abraham head a Barkley cross against the bar, leaving the Blues as comfortable winners at the final whistle.

What it means

Tonight's win moves Chelsea above Liverpool on goal difference and into fifth place in the Premier League table. We are now just three points behind Aston Villa, who currently occupy the final spot in the top four.

What is next

The Premier League temporarily takes a back seat for the Blues after tonight. First we travel to Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round for a 5.45pm kick-off on Saturday 7 March, before a massive Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, at 8pm UK time on Wednesday 11 March.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; Gusto (Lavia 75), Fofana (Tosin 79), Chalobah, Hato; James (c), Caicedo; Palmer (Santos 85), Fernandez (Cucurella 79), Garnacho; Joao Pedro (Delap 85)
Unused subs: Sanchez, Badiashile, Sarr, Santos, Delap, Guiu
Scorers: Joao Pedro 35, 45+6, 64, Palmer 55
Booked: Joao Pedro 54, Fernandez 58

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash (Bogarde h-t), Konsa (c), Mings, Maatsen; Onana, Luiz (Barkley 63); Bailey (Alysson 63), Rogers, Buendia (Sancho 63); Watkins (Abraham 72)
Unused subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Torres, Digne
Scorer: Luiz 3
Booked: Cash 32, Rogers 58, Watkins 68

Referee: Jarred Gillett

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