Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa: 3 players who performed well and 2 who didn't | Premier League 2019-20
The Blues hosted Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in a thrilling encounter that ended 2-1 in Chelsea's favour. Towering target-man Tammy Abraham opened the scoring for the hosts 24 minutes into the game, and while Trezeguet managed to equalize for Villa, Mason Mount handed Chelsea the final goal of the game with a beautiful strike.
While the Blues sit pretty in fourth place on the table, Aston Villa continue the fight to remain just clear of the red zone. Villa will certainly rue their missed chances and their half-baked gameplay that saw them struggle to find their footing. They never really looked like winning it, and there was nothing they could do throughout the second half to negate Mount's 48th minute winner.
The Bridge erupted into pandemonium in the 24th minute when Abraham powered a header beyond the keeper and into the middle of the goal. Right-back Reece James picked out a just onside Abraham at the right moment and lifted a weighted pass to him. Chelsea's top marksman did not hesitate to open the scoring and put the Blues in the lead.
What was perhaps Aston Villa's most fashionable piece of attacking gameplay led to their only goal of the game. A number of one-touch passes took Chelsea's defence by surprise, and the ball found Ahmed El Mohamady totally unmarked on the right wing.
He had all the time in the world to send in a perfect cross to Trezeguet who, for lack of a better word, bumbled the ball into the goal with his head and knee.
Unluckily for Villa, Chelsea's best would come only seven minutes after Trezeguet's goal. Stealing the ball in the middle of the park, the hosts started a possessive attack that found Willian at the right edge of the box.
Using his quick feet and vision, the Brazilian hit a sharp cross to Abraham who flicked the ball down for an unmarked Mount. The 20-year-old then hammered an absolute piledriver beyond Tom Heaton's hand, into the roof of the goal.
Both sides would continue to eke out chances, with Chelsea looking most likely to increase their lead, but Mount's thunderous goal was to be the final one of the game.
Without further ado, let's take a look at three players who were impressive for their respective teams and two players who did not play well.
#5 Mason Mount played well for the Blues
Mason Mount was a thorn in Villa's side throughout the game. He created chances for himself from his position behind Abraham, found holes in Villa's defence, and capped his performance with an unforgettable strike in front of his fans.
While his efforts and efficiency in attack cannot be denied, Mount didn't make any key passes or create any major chances for his teammates in a game where Chelsea controlled the proceedings.
Apart from that, Mount's defensive output needs a little more work too. He was the only attacking player in the Chelsea starting XI that committed three fouls, and he received a yellow card for his troubles.