Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa: Enzo Maresca's team strengthens their chances of finishing in the top four by extending their lead to six points.

Chelsea easily defeated Aston Villa, who have now lost eight straight games, 3-0 to increase their chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

Chelsea took the lead with the opening shot of the match, and the match began at a furious tempo. Marc Cucurella won the ball with a forceful challenge ahead of Jaden Philogene, and that was the key to the goal. Cucurella then picked out Nicolas Jackson, who swept in from close range for his eighth Premier League goal of the season, depriving the Aston Villa players of a free-kick.

Ollie Watkins had Aston Villa's first opportunity after he beat Wesley Fofana to the ball with a fantastic move. Goalie Robert Sanchez was fast off his line to make a clever block as the England attacker was hammering in on goal.

Following a touch from Pau Torres, Emiliano Martinez picked up the ball, giving Chelsea the opportunity to increase their lead. From about eight yards out, referee Stuart Attwell gave Chelsea an indirect free-kick after whistling for a ball back. When all of the Villa players were back on the goal line, Cole Palmer was touched with the ball, and Martinez expertly stopped his strong attempt.

The Villa goalie then nearly gave Chelsea a second goal in a frenzied sequence of events when he mysteriously sent the ball directly to Jackson, but the Argentina international was able to recover thanks to the Chelsea striker's heavy touch.

Just before halftime, Chelsea finally increased their lead as their dominance persisted. Palmer's deft pass found Enzo Fernandez, who finished forcefully from the edge of the penalty box after Enzo Maresca's team had won the ball high up.
 
After Philogene put the striker in on goal in stoppage time at the conclusion of the first half, Villa provided another opportunity for Watkins, but Sanchez again stopped him, giving Chelsea a well-earned two-goal lead at halftime.

Early in the second half, Sanchez worked the ball to John McGinn as Villa, who had to make a change at halftime when custodian Martinez was replaced by Robin Olsen, did. The offside flag ultimately went up against McGinn as the Chelsea custodian moved the ball to safety after the Villa skipper bent an effort towards the far corner.

The game began to wane as a Villa comeback failed to develop, and the second half lacked the energy of the first.

That is, until Palmer's goal in the top corner clinched a decisive victory that drops Emery's team into the bottom half of the standings in 12th place and puts Chelsea in third place, level with Arsenal on points and goal differential, six points ahead of Villa.

Do Chelsea have a chance to win the title?
Enzo Maresca, the head coach of Chelsea, on whether his team is vying for the Premier League title:

"I have stated repeatedly that I disagree with that. For numerous reasons, I don't think we're prepared to compete with Liverpool, Arsenal, and City, and just because we won today doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind. That is not what we are prepared for. However, the good news is that we are getting better and should be there very soon.

What prevents Chelsea from contending for the championship? "We need to improve many things," Maresca retorted. We are more capable of attacking and defending. However, you must live in the present in order to recover.

Some players of this type have likely participated in at least one championship final in their lifetime. The most significant match they've played was most likely the Carabao Cup last year. Therefore, you must experience these times in order to improve, and once we begin to experience them, we will most likely improve and be able to compete.

We'll be there shortly since players from Arsenal, Liverpool, and City all watch finals and fight for championships. However, this is among the factors that keep us from being prepared to compete with those clubs.