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Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0: Chelsea fans show their sense of humour amid Jose Mourinho-led crisis

ANALYSIS: Stamford Bridge supporters enjoy seeing their side get back to winning ways, plus the view from the bench, moment of the match and Diego Costa going down too easily

Saturday 17 October 2015 18:09 BST

Diego Costa consoles Brad Guzan after scoring Chelsea's first goal (Getty Images)

Chelsea alleviated some of the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho with a straight forward 2-0 win over Aston Villa. We take a look a closer look at the match.

STAR PLAYER

Diego Costa: Scored one - his third of the season - forced another and was a central protagonist for Chelsea. He benefited from Cesc Fabregas being allowed the space to play.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Chelsea's second goal - an own goal from Alan Hutton - was met with a chorus of "we are staying up". The Blues fans have kept their sense of humour amid the woeful start.

VIEW FROM THE BENCH

Eden Hazard and Gary Cahill, captain of England in his most recent game, found themselves on the substitutes' bench as Baba Rahman and Ruben Loftus-Cheek made their first league starts. Rahman was exposed and Loftus-Cheek replaced at half-time by Nemanja Matic, who lasted longer than he did at Southampton. Villa made four changes, with Jack Grealish among those restored, but despite some opportunities, did not have the resources to breach Chelsea.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

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1/22Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Begovic: 6 out of 10

Was called into action several times in the first half and, apart from one nervy moment when he cleared Baba Rahman’s pass into the crowd, the goalkeeper dealt with his tests well.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Baba: 5 out of 10

Was handed his first Premier League start at left-back and although he got involved in Chelsea’s attacks, he was caught out several times at the back. His penchant for going forwards didn’t cost Chelsea today, but that issue may be something Mourinho will look to improve.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Zouma: 6 out of 10

His strength came in handy against the likes of Gestede and the defender enjoyed a solid game.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Terry: 6 out of 10

Marshalled Chelsea’s back line well, and combined with Zouma to deal with the physical presence of Gestede particularly at set pieces.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Azpilicueta: 7 out of 10

Despite being caught out early on by Ayew, the Spaniard did well to patrol and defend the right-back area in the absence of Branislav Ivanovic. Made a key clearance to deny Lescott in the second half.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Loftus-Cheek: 6 out of 10

Was handed a start at Stamford Bridge and used his power and pace to get involved in Chelsea’s attacks in the first half while also narrowly missing the goal with a shot. Was brought off for Matic at half-time.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Fabregas: 7 out of 10

Provided the lovely ball over the Villa defence that Costa controlled to score Chelsea’s second and, overall, was more involved and had more influence over the Blues’ attacking play – nearly scoring with nine minutes to go.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Ramires: 6 out of 10

Partnered Loftus-Cheek and then Matic and worked well to provide that extra bit of defensive cover the club needed particularly with the likes of Grealish popping up everywhere in attack.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Willian: 7 out of 10

Used his pace to run onto Guzan’s pass to Lescott and dispossess the Villa defender to set up Chelsea’s first goal. Displayed yet more hard work down the flank for the champions.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Pedro: 5 out of 10

Began the game with a high tempo and caused Hutton problems with his sheer pace, but was also guilty of occasionally losing concentration and could not prove as big of a threat as Willian from his flank. Was brought off for Hazard late on.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Diego Costa: 8 out of 10

The striker scored one and displayed some superb individual work when he chested Fabregas’ clipped ball down to drive a shot at goal in the second half that deflected off Hutton to make it 2-0. Appeared, at times, frustrated with being marked so closely but used his power and pace to make the difference.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Guzan: 4 out of 10

Looked slightly nervy in the opening stages of the game and it showed when he decided to pass the ball out to Lescott instead of booting it clear in the 34th minute, which ended in Chelsea scoring.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Hutton: 6 out of 10

Was exposed at times by Pedro, and despite Chelsea’s second goal being given as an own goal by the defender, he couldn’t do too much about Costa’s strike hitting him onto its way into the goal. Did well to push past Baba Rahman when attacking, though.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Richards: 5 out of 10

Had his work cut out to try and contain the threat of Costa, and failed to track the run of the striker closely enough in the build-up to the opener. Later allowed his frustration to get the better of him when he chested Costa down to the pitch after the striker had gone down under pressure but otherwise did well when called into action.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Lescott: 4 out of 10

Didn’t react quickly enough to clear Guzan’s pass to him, instead being dispossessed by Willian ahead of Chelsea’s first goal.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Richardson: 5 out of 10

Was nowhere to be seen when Willian found space on the right wing to set up Costa for the opener and, after being cautioned for pulling the Brazilian back in the second half, was taken off.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Westwood: 5 out of 10

Gave the ball away to Pedro early on, which resulted in a close chance for the home side before giving away a free-kick later for a foul on the Spaniard. Saw his ability to control proceedings in the middle of the park reduce as the game went on.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Grealish: 6 out of 10

Was one of Villa’s most attacking players, using his pace to win the ball in the centre and on the flanks of the pitch, and test Azpilicueta with his subsequent runs. However, he diminished as the game progressed.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Ayew: 5 out of 10

Used his pace to test Azpilicueta several times in the first half, but could not deliver the pass to help the likes of Gestede score. Was cautioned later for a foul on Ramires.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Gueye: 5 out of 10

Was often outmuscled by Chelsea’s forwards during the game.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Gil: 5 out of 10

Didn’t do enough in attack when Villa went forward and, at times, was caught out.

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa player ratings

Gestede: 4 out of 10

Was ineffective up front for Villa, with Terry and Zouma combining to keep him quiet.

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MOAN OF THE MATCH

Diego Costa: He went down all too easily in search of a penalty when running between Richardson and Lescott. Costa enjoys the physical game and should be able to stay on his feet unless he is genuinely felled. He also had a Greco-Roman wrestle with Ashley Westwood as neither would allow the other to return to their feet off the ball. There was a sly kick from Costa, too.

WHO'S UP NEXT?

Dynamo Kiev v Chelsea (Champions League, Tuesday October 20)

Aston Villa v Swansea (Barclays Premier League, Saturday October 24)

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