Pato's penalty

By Gary Watton
April 2 2016

A pair of goals in each half were more than enough to see off the impotent challenge of pitiful Aston Villa. Although I derive considerable Schadenfreude from the spectacular demise of the once-mighty Villa, I think that it is fair to state that Chelsea (and many others besides) will miss the generous helping of six points that the north Birmingham club has donated in recent times. Aston Villa might pose as a big club, and who am I to dispute this, but the Villains could find themselves engaged in a protracted residency in the lower tier, just like the fallen superpowers of Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

 Meanwhile back on planet Chelsea, t'was wonderful to see young Loftus-Cheek record his first Premiership goal, while the underused and overpaid Pato boldly fired home the second from the penalty spot to open his goals account for his new employer. Whether or not the Brazilian kicks on from here remains to be seen. Another South American maestro, Radamel Falcao, remains marooned on the one goal mark since September. Gee what an inspired signing he has proved to be.

Elsewhere, young Clarke-Salter acquired his first taste of first team action, although no doubt he too will be shunted out on loan in the summer. Maybe it is high time that the incompetent Emenalo was hurled out on a very lengthy loan!

Also, was it merely a coincidence that in the enforced absence of the erratic Gary Cahill that Chelsea have finally re-acquainted themselves with a clean sheet? A special round of applause is consequently allocated to the debutant Matt Miazga who did little wrong, albeit against toothless opposition. Finally the inconsistent Pedro weighed in with a second-half double. He may not exactly be running rings around full backs, like a Hazard or a Robben, but like Malouda before him, Pedro has got a good nose for accurately hitting the target.

Speaking of targets, Chelsea just might ascend to the dizzying altitude of seventh position by the middle of May. The English champions still have some tasty fixtures left to negotiate, so the end of this disappointing season may be anything but a damp squib. We remain unbeaten in the Premiership this season under old man Hiddink, but although we have some momentum which might secure a late season charge, unfortunately there is no team as lightweight as Aston Villa to contend with in the remainder of the campaign.

Aston Villa 0 CHELSEA 4; half time: 0-2.

CHELSEA goal scorers: Loftus-Cheek; Pato (penalty); Pedro (2)

CHELSEA team: Courtois; Azpilicueta; Ivanovic; Miazga; Kenedy; Rahman; Fabregas; Mikel; Loftus-Cheek; Pedro; Remy. Used substitutes: Pato; Oscar; Clarke-Salter.

CHELSEA LEADING SCORERS:

Costa fifteen goals

Willian ten goals

Oscar eight goals

Pedro seven goals

Fabregas five goals

Traore four goals

Cahill three goals

Ramires three goals

Remy three goals

Villa

Discussion started by Chelsea FC (IP Logged), 02/04/2016 13:42

Chelsea FC
02/04/2016 13:42

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