Cole Palmer party piece adds shine as Chelsea compound Aston Villa worries | first division

Bad news for fans of slapstick comedy: Chelsea seem to be serious again. Forget back passes, ridiculous defending and silly red cards if you turn up at Stamford Bridge any time soon. Nowadays it's all about ruthless control and Chelsea, who are maturing very well under Enzo Maresca, had it in spades during this dominant victory over Villa Aston.

True, there were a few scares, most notably when Ollie Watkins squandered the chance to cancel out Nicolas Jackson's eighth goal of the season, but the bottom line was that the result was never in doubt. Chelsea's young talents played with authority throughout and although Maresca was quick to quell rumors of a title challenge, the Italian was able to revel in the way his players overwhelmed Villa with ferocious pressing and a vibrant attack.

The only negative for the Chelsea coach was the loss of defender Wesley Fofana due to a hamstring injury. Otherwise, there was much to savor. Maresca loved Jackson's hunger, watched Moisés Caicedo thrive as a substitute right-back and praised Marc Cucurella, whose determined tackle on Jaden Philogene provided the spark as Chelsea took the lead in the seventh minute.

“We try to play with personality,” said Unai Emery, still not reversing a poor run that has seen Villa go from being a top-four contender to a mid-table rival. “We tried to stop them in the high press. But Chelsea showed that they are different. They are stronger. They have no doubts like last year.”

Maresca maintained a sense of perspective, pointing out that his team must become more battle-hardened if they are to match Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Still, it was hard not to get carried away when Cole Palmer, who had earlier sent on Enzo Fernandez to score his second goal in as many games, completed the scoring with the kind of routine brilliance that has become his calling card.

“If I go out and enjoy my football, the goals and assists will come,” Palmer said. “It all depends on the coach, the desire he puts into the sessions and what the players give him.”

Although Villa have made a couple of successful forays into Stamford Bridge in recent seasons, Chelsea were better equipped to deal with Emery's tactics this time around. Now there is an accessory to match the style. Periods of unexplained drift are less frequent.

Villa, who have lost five of their last seven games in all competitions, were slow to read the room. They were shocked by Chelsea's sudden bursts of aggression. Jackson did not give Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and England defender Ezri Konsa a moment's peace as they attempted to build from the back.

The tone was set and Chelsea, level on points with second-placed Arsenal, soon attacked. Pedro Neto saw a cross from the right headed in, but Philogene took a strong touch and was never going to win a 50-50 with Cucurella.

Chelsea pulled away when the ball reached Jadon Sancho, who was brilliant in his first league start in more than a month. The winger waited for Cucurella's overlapping run and then played a pass to the left back, whose deflected cross rose for Jackson to score with a move that came in at the near post.

Villa responded well at first. There was a moment of danger when Watkins passed after Fofana slipped. However, the England striker has scored one goal in his last eight games and his weak shot did not beat Robert Sánchez.

Nothing ran for Villa. Chelsea squeezed them. Restless, Villa made some strange decisions. Youri Tielemans almost paid for losing possession to Palmer. Martínez stopped the attacker's shot but then collected the ball when Pau Torres returned it to him. Stuart Attwell almost looked embarrassed at having to give Chelsea an indirect free kick.

Palmer's subsequent effort was denied by Martinez but the silliness continued as he passed straight to Jackson. The forward seemed surprised and did not know how to take advantage.

However, with Roméo Lavia and Fernández controlling the midfield, the second goal was a matter of time. This was demonstrated when Palmer opened up Villa with a precise pass. Nobody chased Fernández and the midfielder took a deflected shot that beat Martínez from the edge of the area.

Game over? Quite. Villa, who replaced the injured Martinez with Robin Olsen, has made a couple of forays but they look a shadow of their former selves. Has the Champions League worn them down? “We're not a surprise like last year,” Emery said.

They are also not as consistent as Chelsea. They pushed for a third, Jackson fired over and they got it when Noni Madueke found Palmer after coming off the bench. Palmer had worked hard without the ball and here was his reward: a left-footed shot past Olsen from 25 yards, shattering Chelsea's supremacy.