For once, there was no criticism of Rafa Benitez since the Spaniard took over at Stamford Bridge. This was because the football was simply spectacular, as Chelsea ran out 8-0 winners against Aston Villa. If eight goals sound a lot, then think again because Chelsea could have easily gone into double figures had it not been for a missed penalty and some brilliant saves from the Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Rafa Benitez promised at the start of his reign that he would be adopting attacking football because it is the wish of the owner. Many thought that it was almost impossible for manager, who always thinks about tactics, clean sheets, and perfection – not to mention ‘FACTS’.
However, Chelsea never relinquished their attacking intent from the first whistle. It was seen from the third minute goal scored by Fernando Torres, which reminded many inside the stadium of one Didier Drogba. David Luiz yet again reminded people of Drogba with a wonderful freekick, while Ivanovic managed to pounce on from poor defending in a corner routine to give Chelsea 3-0 advantage going into halftime.
Chelsea could have been forgiven for taking the foot of the pedal with the upcoming three matches in the space of 10 days in mind, but they did not. The team continued with the same attacking intent in the second half. The fans were rewarded with an outstanding goal from Frank Lampard, which reminded people once again of his importance. Lampard was making his 500th appearance for the club and became the record goal scorer in the league with this goal.
The summer signings Hazard and Oscar joined in the fun with a goal apiece, while Ramires scored two goals to go one better than the 7-0 demolition we achieved over Aston Villa under Carlo Ancelotti back in 2010. Lucas Piazon, who came on as a substitute, was equally impressive, but missed a penalty that would have given the biggest league win the Chelsea. As it stands, we have now equalled the 8-0 win over Wigan in 2010.
Benitez’s reaction after the match:
“To win is always special, but the main thing for me is to see the team progress and improve.
“The team are attacking as a whole and not just depending on one or two players, which is good news. Hopefully we can keep this momentum.
“Now we have to sustain this run, keep winning some games and then it will be easier for me to send a message out that we can compete.”
Team lineups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech, Azpilcueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Lampard (Ramires 60), Moses, Mata (Piazon 74), Hazard, Torres (Oscar 67)
Scorers: Torres 2, David Luiz 28, Ivanovic 34, Lampard 58, Ramires 75, 90+1, Oscar pen 78, Hazard 83
Aston Villa (3-5-2): Guzan, Herd, Clark, Baker, Lowton, Westwood (Ireland 56), Holman (Bowery 79), Bannan, Lichaj (Bennett 56), Weimann, Benteke
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