Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa: Blues maintain pressure on Gunners with comfortable Villa victory

Cole Palmer's sublime goal capped a fantastic 3-0 win for Chelsea over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

When second-place Arsenal won on Saturday, Chelsea seized the opportunity to keep the pressure on the Gunners, moving – at least temporarily – above Manchester City.

Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring with his eighth league goal of the season when he tucked away Marc Cucurella's center after just seven minutes.

Enzo Fernandez doubled Chelsea's lead before half-time, while Palmer's brilliant finish from 20 yards put the result beyond doubt in the 83rd minute.

Enzo Maresca's side are in third place due to alphabetical order, as they have an identical record to Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Villa dropped to 12th after a fifth consecutive Premier League game without a win – and eighth in all competitions.

4 – Nicolas Jackson has opened the scoring within ten minutes in four different Premier League games in 2024; the most of any player this year. Urgency. pic.twitter.com/vxxRhf6IXL

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 1, 2024

Data debrief: Chelsea inflict more Blues on Villa

Villa's wait for a win continues as they missed the chance to record three straight league wins over Chelsea for the first time since the 1930s.

The Villans trailed from the seventh minute as Jackson opened the scoring in a Premier League game for the sixth time this season, with only Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood doing so more often.

He also opened the scoring inside ten minutes in four different Premier League games in 2024; the most of any player this year.

Palmer then assisted Fernandez's goal before getting on the scoresheet himself, registering his first direct goal against Villa.