Chelsea did not make a mistake in the home game against Aston Villa on Saturday night. Thomas Tuchel’s team won 3-0, mainly thanks to Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku gave the Londoners the lead in the first half and signed for the last goal in the final minute. The second came in the name of Mateo Kovacic, who intercepted a too short pass-back and scored simply. Chelsea are in second place in points with leaders Manchester United.
Hakim Ziyech made his first appearance in the starting lineup at Chelsea since the Super Cup in August. Saúl Ñíguez, who is on loan from Atlético Madrid, made his midfield debut alongside Mateo Kovacic, as N’Golo Kanté was missing with an ankle injury. Aston Villa adapted to Chelsea with a five-defender formation, at the cost of Anwar El Ghazi’s starting spot.
His first on The Bridge: the stadium explodes after Romelu Lukaku’s first goal on home ground! ????#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #CHEAVL pic.twitter.com/kbYzUCF84W
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 11, 2021
In the tenth minute, Ezri Konsa miraculously prevented a Callum Hudson-Odoi corner from going straight into the goal. The defender of Aston Villa managed to clear the ball through the crossbar. Five minutes later, Chelsea hit the target. Kovacic sent a perfect depth ball to Romelu Lukaku, which Axel Tuanzebe cleverly cut out and then rounded off with the right: 1-0. In the remainder of the first half, the best chances were then for Aston Villa.
The biggest was for Ollie Watkins, who made good use of loss of possession in the build-up of Kovacic. Watkins passed goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, but then found Thiago Silva’s block in his way. Then Mendy made another double save on shots from Tyrone Mings and Konsa respectively. Chelsea needed several minutes after the break to double their lead. Mings played the ball back to his goalkeeper Jed Steer too short, after which Kovacic took advantage: 2-0. Lukaku made it 3-0 in injury time, by chasing the ball hard into the corner from the edge of the penalty area.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 8 | Everton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 6 |
| 10 | Brentford | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 14 | Southampton | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
| 15 | Watford | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
| 16 | Arsenal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -4 | 2 |
| 18 | Burnley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -7 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -10 | 0 |
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