Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa
By Stuart Marsden.
A tough one to call before the match. Chelsea have been patchy of late, despite the 5-0 win at Pompey it was still a shady performance. While Aston Villa have shown they can match it with the best this season but they have also stuttered badly of late. So we are left with 3 scenario’s 1. Chelsea turn up and whoop Villa. 2. Vice-Versa or 3 neither turn up!
Well I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it was option 1 BUT the fact is that Chelsea did turn up but Aston Villa didn’t do too badly themselves. The 7-1 scoreline would have you thinking it was all one way traffic and Villa were trapped in their half for 88 of the 90 minutes. Infact I think Villa played ok.
The game started off with both teams trading blows at the Bridge. Alex and Cech getting in a slight muddle with a through ball and Carew’s pressure earning Villa a corner in the first few minutes. Chelsea responded with Deco sliding the ball through to Anelka to get in the first shot of the game from the right hand side of the penalty area, easily saved by Friedal. Whilst not a pulsating match it did have the feel off two heavyweights testing each other out.
Chelsea were looking more dangerous than Villa and Chelsea got their reward with Malouda sending in a wicked cross for Lampard to steal in at the back with his 18th goal of the season. This spurred on the Chelsea team with Malouda teaming up well with Zhirkov to steam through the Villa ranks only for it to fizzle out.
Villa battled away with Luke Young demanding better from his team and the fiery headed Sidwell getting into 3 tussles in 3 minutes. Villa got their equaliser when Young crossed from the left about 25 yards out with his right foot for the inform Carew to smash home. 1-1, 29 minutes played.
After the equaliser both teams reverted to form and took to trading blows again with Zhirkov being cautioned for a foul on Agbonlahor and Malouda repeatedly taking the game to Villa almost by himself. Again a surging move down the left between Zhirkov and Malouda gained results with Chelsea winning a penalty from a trip on Zhirkov by Collins after a lovely flick by Malouda to get the ball through to Zhirkov in the box. Lampard stepped up and slammed the ball over a despairing Friedal. 2-1 and half time.
Villa came out in the second half with a 4-4-2 formation, their manager hoping to take the game to Chelsea. Within minutes Ferreira is booked for holding back Agbonlahor after he skips past the Portuguese defender. 56 minutes in and Ancelotti sends out Drogba to warm up, is this a hint to the team that he expects better?
In any case Chelsea did step up a gear and within a minute they are 3-1 up with Malouda smashing in Zhirkov’s cross. A sweeping move that was made by Deco’s slide ball to Zhirkov that was placed perfectly behind Luke Young. 5 minutes later Chelsea had another with a Lampard penalty, almost a carbon copy of how they won the first but with Anelka heading the ball into the run of Zhirkov, only for him to be tripped by Dunne, who was given a yellow. 4-1.
Villa respond by winning a free kick 20 yards out after Agbonlahor is fouled by Ferreira but all Ashley Young can do is smash it into the four man wall. Delfouneso (on for Carew) almost managed to get Villa into the game with a run from halfway that beat 3 defenders and was only denied a shot on goal by a John Terry sliding challenge.
In the 68th minute Malouda passes in a superbly placed shot after receiving the ball from Lampard who was within his rights to attempt his hat-trick. This was turning into quite a route for Chelsea who was looking to send a message out to Manchester Utd who played later the same day. Worryingly for Villa 10 minutes later Agbonlahor is taken off with an injury from a challenge with Alex.
Villa kept plugging away with Sidwell having a shot blocked in the 78th minute leading to his side having a corner. From the corner Chelsea break and Kalou puts a curling left footed drive just wide. This was merely a warning for the next goal as he receives the ball from Anelka and this time gets it right from 15 yards out on the right hand side of the box in the 85th minute. 6-1. The route was completed in the 91st minute with Lampard smashing in a rebound from a Malouda cross.
The boys from Brum will be heading home heavily bruised after this encounter but have a good couple of matches to get back up to speed. However Chelsea have the daunting task of Old Trafford next week however Chelsea’s confidence must be high after scoring 12 goals in 2 matches. 7 of those today without Didier Drogba.
Man of the Match – 4 goal Frank, his tally taking him to become Chelsea’s 3rd best ever goal scorer.
If you haven’t seen them already, match highlights and goals can be watched by clicking below.
Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa. Match highlights and goals.
Is this Chelsea back to their best? Will this result give them the confidence they need going into the big clash with Man Utd? Please leave your comments below….
A tough one to call before the match. Chelsea have been patchy of late, despite the 5-0 win at Pompey it was still a shady performance. While Aston Villa have shown they can match it with the best this season but they have also stuttered badly of late. So we are left with 3 scenario’s 1. Chelsea turn up and whoop Villa. 2. Vice-Verca or 3 neither turn up!
Well I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it was option1 BUT the fact is that Chelsea did turn up but Aston Villa didn’t do too badly themselves. The 7-1 scoreline would have you thinking it was all one way traffic and Villa were trapped in their half for 88 of the 90 minutes. Infact I think Villa didn’t do too badly.
The game started off with both teams trading blows at the Bridge. Alex and Cech getting in a slight muddle with a through ball and Carew’s pressure earning Villa a corner in the first few minutes. Chelsea responded with Deco sliding the ball through to Anelka to get in the first shot of the game from the right hand side of the penalty area, easily saved by Friedal. Whilst not a pulsating match it did have the feel off two heavyweights testing each other out. Chelsea were looking more dangerous than Villa and Chelsea got their reward with Malouda sending in a wicked cross for Lampard to steal in at the back with his 18th goal of the season. This spurred on the Chelsea team with Malouda teaming up well with Zhirkov to steam through the Villa ranks only for it to fizzle out. Villa battled away with Luke Young demanding better from his team and the fiery headed Sidwell getting into 3 tussles in 3 minutes. Villa got their equaliser when Young crossed from the left about 25 yards out with his right foot for the inform Carew to smash home. 1-1, 29 minutes played.
After the equaliser both teams reverted to form and took to trading blows again with Zhirkov being cautioned for a foul on Agbonlahor and Malouda repeatedly taking the game to Villa almost by himself. Again a surging move down the left between Zhirkov and Malouda gained results with Chelsea winning a penalty from a trip on Zhirkov by Collins after a lovely flick by Malouda to get the ball through to Zhirkov in the box. Lampard stepped up and slammed the ball over a despairing Friedal. 2-1 and half time.
Villa came out in the second half with a 442 formation, their manager hoping to take the game to Chelsea. Within minutes Ferreira is booked for holding back Agbonlahor after he skips past the Portuguese defender. 56 minutes in and Ancelotti sends out Drogba to warm up, is this a hint to the team that he expects better? In any case Chelsea did step up a gear and within a minute they are 3-1 up with Malouda smashing in Zhirkov’s cross. A sweeping move that was made by Deco’s slide ball to Zhirkov that was placed perfectly behind Luke Young. 5 minutes later Chelsea had another with a Lampard penalty, almost a carbon copy of how they won the first but with Anelka heading the ball into the run of Zhirkov, only for him to be tripped by Dunne, who was given a yellow. 4-1.
Villa respond by winning a free kick 20 yards out after Agbonlahor is fouled by Ferreira but all Ashley Young can do is smash it into the four man wall. Delfouneso (on for Carew)almost managed to get Villa into the game with a run from halfway that beat 3 defenders and was only denied a shot on goal by a John Terry sliding challenge. In the 68th minute Malouda passes in a superbly placed shot after receiving the ball from Lampard who was within his rights to attempt his hat-trick. This was turning into quite a route for Chelsea who was looking to send a message out to Manchester Utd who played later the same day. Worryingly for Villa 10 minutes later Agbonlahor is taken off with an injury from a challenge with Alex. Villa kept plugging away with Sidwell having a shot blocked in the 78th minute leading to his side having a corner. From the corner Chelsea break and Kalou puts a curling left footed drive just wide. This was merely a warning for the next goal as he receives the ball from Anelka and this time gets it right from 15 yards out on the right hand side of the box in the 85th minute. 6-1. The route was completed in the 91st minute with Lampard smashing in a rebound from a Malouda cross.
The boys from Brum will be heading home heavily bruised after this encounter but have a good couple of matches to get back up to speed. However Chelsea have the daunting task of Old Trafford next week however Chelsea’s confidence must be high after scoring 12 goals in 2 matches. 7 of those today without Didier Drogba.
Man of the Match – 4 goal Frank, his tally taking him to become Chelsea’s 3rd best ever goal scorer.
