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Joao Pedro has scored five goals in his past four Premier League games At a glance Joao Pedro nets a hat-trick for Chelsea Cole Palmer also scores for visitors Douglas Luiz had given Villa a second-minute lead PLAYER RATER Joao Pedro's hat-trick breathed fresh life into Chelsea's Champions League charge with a statement win at rivals Aston Villa. The striker took his tally to 17 for the season, with Cole Palmer also netting, as the visitors came from behind at Villa Park. Douglas Luiz's first goal in more than two years gave Villa the lead, but following the turnaround, they are now just three points above Chelsea in the Premier League - missing the chance to move nine points clear. The Blues moved up to fifth, a place behind Villa, in the race for the Champions League just a day after head coach Liam Rosenior warned they were running out of time to cut the gap. It was Villa's heaviest home defeat in two years and, having gone 12 months unbeaten in the Premier League at Villa Park until August, they have now lost three of their past five top-flight home games. It was the perfect start for the hosts, though, when Leon Bailey produced a low cross for Douglas Luiz to flick in from close range after two minutes. As Chelsea responded, Emi Martinez saved from Joao Pedro and Palmer while Reece James had a penalty claim rejected after going down under Ian Maatsen's challenge. Those chances emboldened the visitors and Joao Pedro deservedly levelled when he tapped in Malo Gusto's pass. The visitors were on top but almost gifted Villa the lead when James' loose pass allowed Villa to break and Ollie Watkins beat Filip Jorgensen - only for the video assistant referee to narrowly rule him offside. More VAR frustration was to come for Villa in first-half injury time when Enzo Fernandez's cute pass found Joao Pedro to lift the ball over Martinez, with the striker judged to be just onside. Palmer then struck 10 minutes after the break and Joao Pedro completed his treble from Alejandro Garnacho's pass. Aston Villa are unravelling. There is no question or doubt they are succumbing to the pressure, expectation and lack of depth while they battle for the top five. Victory would have put them nine points clear of Chelsea, instead the Blues are hunting them down. Ollie Watkins had a chance at 3-1 down to give Villa hope, rounding Filip Jorgensen without getting a shot away, which summed up his form and Villa's slump. It is one win in seven in all competitions, having also been dumped out of the FA Cup by Newcastle. Only time will tell if back-to-back defeats to Wolves and Chelsea are as damaging as they seem and the next Premier League game is a trip is to Manchester United on 15 March. Villa end the season against Liverpool and Manchester City and while they remain in the top four their fragilities are on display. Villa Park was a fortress, Unai Emery's side went 12 months without losing in the Premier League at home, but it has been flattened. They have lost four of their last seven home outings and during those games they needed late goals to take a point against Leeds and beat Brighton. By the end the stadium was barely a quarter full as fans had already started heading for the exits once Chelsea went 4-1 up. Hat-trick hero Joao Pedro made it nine goals in nine games to give Chelsea a significant boost in their bid to qualify for the Champions League. His clever movement at the back post allowed him to get free of Villa defender Ezri Konsa to equalise, while his dinked finish just before half-time underlined his quality. His third was another tap-in after Garnacho exploited Villa's high line and his 71st minute overhead-kick - which went just wide - highlighted his joga bonito - 'play beautiful' - spirit. The forward's all-round ability means he can score different types of goals - close range or long range, with his feet and with his head, clinical and spectacular. Only Manchester City pair Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, along with Brentford's Igor Thiago, have scored more than his 14 Premier League goals this season. And Joao Pedro, who has also contributed seven assists, has reached that total without any penalties to boost the tally. Not since Diego Costa's efforts in the 2016-17 title‑winning campaign have Chelsea had a striker capable of scoring 20 goals in a single season, with Tammy Abraham, a Villa substitute on Wednesday, coming closest during his time at Stamford Bridge. It is not just his output that has impressed staff at Chelsea. Joao Pedro has also acted as a mentor for young Brazilians Estevao Willian and Andrey Santos, and he is known for volunteering for difficult tasks such as speaking to the media after disappointing defeats. Chelsea believe they selected the right striker and have had value for money from their £55m deal with Brighton, in a summer that Alexander Isak joined Liverpool, Benjamin Sesko moved to Manchester United and Viktor Gyokeres signed for Arsenal. Aston Villa go to Lille in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday (17: 45 GMT) and then face another crucial game in the battle for the Premier League's top five at Manchester United on 15 March (14: 00). Chelsea travel to Wrexham in the FA Cup on Saturday (17: 45) before facing defending champions Paris St-Germain in France in the Champions League for their last-16 first leg tie the following Wednesday (20: 00). Have your say on Aston Villa's performance What did you make of Chelsea's display? Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 4th March 2026 at 21: 59 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Liam Rosenior Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Unai Emery Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Liam Rosenior Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Aston Villa Aston Villa Chelsea Chelsea High chance of scoring Medium chance of scoring Low chance of scoring Dominant period Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. 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Chelsea are winless in their last two Premier League visits to Villa Park (D1 L1), having won five of their previous six games there prior. The Blues haven’t lost consecutive away league games at Villa since losing in 2002-03 and 2003-04 under Claudio Ranieri. Having won their last two Premier League matches against Chelsea, Aston Villa are looking for three league wins in a row against the Blues for the first time since a run of four between 1978 and 1984. Aston Villa have only won one of their last four Premier League home games (D1 L2), this after having won eight in succession beforehand. The Villans have scored just two goals from 76 shots (2. 6% conversion rate) and 6. 0 expected goals in their last four at Villa Park. Chelsea have lost eight of their last 10 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away games in the Premier League (W2), including both in 2025-26 so far, going down 3-1 at Leeds in December and 2-1 at Fulham in January. Aston Villa have won just two of their last eight Premier League games (D3 L3), netting just five goals in this run (0. 6 per game). The Villans had won 13 of their previous 15 before this (L2), averaging 2. 1 goals per game. Aston Villa average 16. 5 shots per 90 minutes when losing in the Premier League this season, almost double the amount they average in a winning game state this term (8. 8). Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has scored four goals in his last six Premier League games against Chelsea, though all have come at Stamford Bridge. He netted both goals in their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in December, with Anwar El-Ghazi the last Villa player to score home and away against the Blues in a league season (2020-21). Tammy Abraham, who scored 21 goals in 58 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, is looking to score in back-to-back home games in the competition for the first time since December 2019 when he was a Blues player – the second game of which was against his current side Aston Villa. Chelsea’s João Pedro has been directly involved in five goals in five Premier League appearances against Aston Villa (2 goals, 3 assists) – against no side has he been involved in more in the competition. Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Lamare Bogarde (Aston Villa). Substitution, Aston Villa. Tammy Abraham replaces Ollie Watkins. Attempt missed. João Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Cole Palmer. Offside, Chelsea. Alejandro Garnacho is caught offside. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Wesley Fofana (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa). João Pedro (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Amadou Onana (Aston Villa). Goal! Aston Villa 1, Chelsea 4. João Pedro (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Alejandro Garnacho. Substitution, Aston Villa. Alysson Edward replaces Leon Bailey. Substitution, Aston Villa. Ross Barkley replaces Douglas Luiz. Substitution, Aston Villa. Jadon Sancho replaces Emiliano Buendía. Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Malo Gusto. Enzo Fernández (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card. Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card. Malo Gusto (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa). Goal! Aston Villa 1, Chelsea 3. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by João Pedro. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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