Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0: The Palmer press, Fofana concerns – and are Chelsea contenders?

Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0: The Palmer press, Fofana concerns – and are Chelsea contenders?

The summit is still a long way off, but if this good form continues despite this month’s hectic schedule, Chelsea will force their way into any conversation involving the Premier League title fight.

That impressive win over Aston Villa brought them back onto the same level as Arsenal – long considered rivals and only above them in alphabetical order – and a run of one defeat in 12 league games suggests rare consistency. They remain a potent attacking force and Cole Palmer’s first goal in over a month is a reminder of the threat they pose from all angles. They had far too much for a vulnerable Villa side and the only criticism was Wesley Fofana, who limped off in the second half.

Otherwise it was comfortable. The tone was set early on thanks to Nicolas Jackson’s cleverly struck goal when he shot Marc Cucurella’s deflected cross just wide of the post. Other opportunities were wasted before Enzo Fernandez scored with the outside of his right foot after a cleverly constructed move to score the hosts’ second goal.

There was an occasional hint of fear before Palmer’s third shot, particularly when Ollie Watkins forced Robert Sanchez into smart saves. But Chelsea always felt they had enough to prevail.

Liam Twomey and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyze the key talking points from Stamford Bridge.


Are Chelsea contenders?

Please don’t walk away because this is not what you think.

Chelsea are not, by conventional standards, a remotely credible contender for the Premier League title. With this win they are on their way to 73 points, two points shy of the lowest ever achieved by a champion in the history of the competition (Manchester United 1996–97). Maresca’s squad is also as detailed by The athletic one last week almost three years younger than the average age of the last 10 winners.

This weekend, Opta’s supercomputer predicted Chelsea would have a less than one percent chance of becoming champions – and a higher chance of finishing eighth in May.


Maresca downplayed Chelsea’s title prospects (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Most importantly, even a win here would leave them just six points off the top of the table before Liverpool and Manchester City took on Anfield. Still, they are on par with Arsenal, who clearly started this season with serious Premier League title ambitions.

Whether that says more about Chelsea, Arsenal or this particular season as a whole depends on your perspective. Up to this point, Liverpool have behaved like a team that wants to finish the race for the title before the turn of the year. But will it really be that easy for Arne Slot in his first season in English football? Or is disaster still ahead of them?


Fernandez converts from the edge of the box (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

If this is the case, all sorts of unexpected conversations may need to be had.

Perhaps it would mean City could still win a fifth consecutive Premier League title, despite a losing streak in the autumn that felt like the end of a dynasty. Perhaps it means that despite a relatively quiet first third of the season, Arsenal have finally overcome the crisis. Or perhaps it means Chelsea will be at the big boys’ table before Maresca or anyone else expects.

On paper, Villa at home was one of the most difficult games for Chelsea in what has been a hugely favorable remainder of 2024. Maresca will not be encouraging talk of a title fight, but the mere fact that the questions continue to arise in press conferences is an indicator of welcome progress .

Liam Twomey


Cole Palmer: Press machine?

After three league games without a goal or assist, Cole Palmer managed one in each on Sunday, setting up Fernandez to double the hosts’ lead with a well-weighted pass in the first half before scoring a spectacular third nine minutes from time. This made him the second fastest Chelsea player to score 30 Premier League goals for the club (in 46 games, five shy of Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink’s record).

He also showed his qualities several times when in possession of the ball with clever ball contacts and sharp passes and scored a few useful free kicks.

But before his attacking contributions, Chelsea benefited significantly from Palmer disrupting Villa’s build-up play by shadowing Youri Tielemans whenever the visitors tried to play out from the back.


Palmer slides off Morgan Rogers (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

This led to some high turnovers that led to shots in the first 25 minutes, including the bizarre sequence that led to an indirect free kick being awarded in the penalty area after Emi Martinez picked up the ball following a touch from Pau Torres.

However, it wasn’t a flawless performance from Palmer when he wasn’t in possession of the ball. Villa’s best openings came when Tielemans escaped the England striker’s clutches to free a teammate, but these were not numerous – suggesting Palmer did a good job with ample support from Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia at the back .

Anantaajith Raghuraman


What happened to Wesley Fofana?

On the hour mark, Wesley Fofana heard a familiar sound that he has come to dread: compassionate applause rippling across Stamford Bridge as he gingerly stood up and slowly hobbled towards the tunnel, holding back tears and accepting a hug from substitute Joao Felix .

Following Watkins’ tireless runs was always going to be a demanding test of his joints, muscles and ligaments, but kicking the football ended Fofana’s afternoon prematurely – the greatest occupational hazard for a professional footballer.

He clearly felt something give way. Exactly what will matter for the timeline of his rehabilitation – the early assessment was a hamstring problem – but not for what it means right now: another dispiriting setback in his attempt to regain some momentum in his career bring, another break on the sidelines, another unwanted opportunity for him and Reece James to empathize with each other’s misfortunes.


A disconsolate Fofana limps away (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Fofana has been one of the most encouraging Chelsea stories this season. His young partnership with Levi Colwill is promising, although he never kept a clean sheet, and his numerous physical problems do not appear to have limited his blistering pace or his breathtaking vertical leap.

But in October, Maresca made this ominous disclaimer when he revealed that Fofana will likely have to play in pain for the rest of his career – a startling statement for any 23-year-old footballer.

This is and remains a part of Fofana’s story, along with the excellent tackles, the exciting defenses and the powerful headers. Chelsea need to estimate whenever he is available and plan for whenever he is not available.

Liam Twomey


How good is Jackson?

Jackson’s goal on Sunday was his eighth of the league season in 13 games, already more than half of his 14 goals last season. In the seventh minute, after winning the ball high up the pitch, the Spaniard showed fantastic movement as he parried away Cucurella’s cross. The finish was even more accomplished as Matty Cash sent the ball forward, forcing the striker to readjust.

Jackson had two more shots (one on goal), improving his shot accuracy to 65 percent this season and shot-to-goal conversion rate to 26 percent, up from 51 and 18 percent last season. While those may not hold water, they are fantastic numbers for a player who was criticized for his profligacy last season.


Jackson’s opening game was his eighth of the season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

While Jackson delivered a consistent end result, he continued to impress with his hold-up play, which gave Chelsea the opportunity to bypass Villa’s midfield. This was evident in the build-up to Fernandez’s goal when Jackson dragged a defender along to meet Colwill’s pass, which eventually found its way to Palmer, who moved Fernandez out of position with John McGinn and Tielemans.

So after 13 games, this looks set to be the most productive season of Jackson’s young senior career.

Anantaajith Raghuraman


What did Enzo Maresca say?

We’ll bring you the Chelsea head coach’s thoughts after he speaks at his post-match press conference.


Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly watches from a corporate box (Robin Jones/Getty Images)

What’s next for Chelsea?

Wednesday, December 4th: Southampton (A), Premier League, 7:30 p.m. GMT, 2:30 p.m. ET


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(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

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