In the 83rd minute, the ball rolled to the feet of Cole Palmer in a bubble outside the Aston Villa penalty area and the crowd took notice. Small conversations stopped. The heads craned forward at the same time. Ah, now The That’s why we came.

Chelsea this season is an entertaining game full of pace and swagger, in stark contrast to the erratic performances of Nicolas Jackson, a man who can finish in an afternoon with all the accuracy of a sniper and all the delicacy of a caravan. But there’s a reason why walking along Fulham Road inspires such anticipation these days. Palmer practically guarantees a handful of moments that will take your breath away, one or two of which will probably result in goals, using touches and feints that are often so subtle that you’ll try not to describe exactly what he does afterward did in the pub.

This stadium has in the past hosted star attractions like Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard, players who could light up the most mundane game with a single dribble. But Palmer’s appeal is more enigmatic. His best moments often come at a standstill, when the threat of what he might do rubs defenders the wrong way more than the action he ultimately takes. And despite the excellence of Pedro Neto, despite the tenacity of Marc Cucurella, despite the crazy performance of Jackson, it was Palmer that they wanted to see as an entertainment product in its own right.

In some ways, this was the perfect game for Palmer, against a team that was brave enough to play but not good enough to control the game. In the first half, Aston Villa played some kamikaze football in their own penalty area, attempting extremely dangerous passes back to Emi Martinez, who was caught out a few times.

The highlight of these mishaps was undoubtedly a pass back that was rarely awarded and generally appreciated when it was. Martinez took the ball off the toes of his defender Pau Torres, about 10 yards away, and an entire stadium howled. Chelsea’s players clearly had not prepared for this eventuality and began an intense discussion about how to implement it, ultimately choosing Palmer as ball striker after Enzo Fernandez was sent off. Villa’s entire team lined up on the goal line, in a distinctly Sunday League-like scene, and one of their flying body parts made the crucial block.

There were always goals in a game between two teams that usually need multiple goals to win and are trying to trump the concessions of their leaky defense like they’re running the bathroom with the plug unplugged. It was Chelsea’s first clean sheet at home this season, while Villa have conceded just one goal in their last 18 league games, the 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United last month, with 34 goals conceded were conceded, an average of almost two per game.

Stamford Bridge had been a happy place for Villa fans in recent times, having gone undefeated in their last three visits, and it would have been the perfect place to put to rest any murmurs of dissatisfaction about a seven-game winning streak that ran until mid-October goes back to silencing.

Yet they never really competed here. Thanks to Enzo Maresca’s approach of calling the Europa Conference League “very important” while treating every game like a bi-weekly city break, Chelsea were able to rest almost their entire team during the week. Such a luxury cannot be afforded in the Champions League as Unai Emery named broadly the same team as in Wednesday’s goalless draw with Juventus and it showed in the early exchanges.

After seven minutes, Cucurella grabbed a tackle and stormed into the Villa penalty area with the ball before crossing to Jackson, who directed the ball into the goal with a precision that let him down in spectacular fashion for the rest of the game.

Palmer found himself on the sidelines, and in retrospect, perhaps that was the reason why Villa allowed him some space within their sphere of influence, that niche of doubt in the right half-space where none of his opponents – neither centre-backs nor left-backs – played defensive midfielders – pretty much exactly who should take charge, although they probably discussed this exact scenario in detail in the team meeting on Friday.

His ball to Fernandez for Chelsea’s second goal was exquisite, flying hard and low with meaning, a pass that bounced off the Argentine’s instep and was bound to be scored. He did so and quickly found the corner.

Some of Palmer’s other moments were disappointing. A shot in the first half landed limply at Martinez’s feet. In the second half, he received the ball on the edge of the box and didn’t allow a pass to anyone before looking around as if wondering why his teammates hadn’t received his instruction telepathically. He later stormed towards goal one-on-one with Robin Olsen, who replaced the injured Martinez at halftime, but struggled and ended up shooting softly straight at the goalkeeper.

But then it came. Palmer received the pass from his friend Noni Madueke on the right wing and the nearest Villa defenders rushed into action, knowing they were probably already too late. One touch to steady him, another to dislodge him from his feet, and as soon as his left boot penetrated the ball, it inevitably felt like the net would bulge.

Palmer grinned and ran, shaking and slipping on his knees as his teammates overwhelmed him. Chelsea fans grinned at each other. A moment later he was substituted to a standing ovation, and despite the few minutes remaining, it seemed to be the game’s grand finale: thanks for coming to the Cole Palmer show, enjoy your evenings.