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Chelsea boost top four push as Joao Pedro treble routs Villa / Photo: Darren Staples - AFP
Chelsea boost top four push as Joao Pedro treble routs Villa
Joao Pedro hit a hat-trick as Chelsea thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 on Wednesday to improve their prospects of qualifying for the Champions League.
Joao Pedro's first Premier League treble lifted Liam Rosenior's side above Liverpool into fifth place, just three points behind fourth-placed Villa.
The Brazilian's starring role, aided by a goal from Cole Palmer, ensured Chelsea recovered from Douglas Luiz's early opener at Villa Park.
It was the most complete performance of Rosenior's two months in charge, allowing the Blues to erase the bitter taste of their three-game winless run in the league.
When Luiz struck inside three minutes, Villa had high hopes of taking a huge step towards securing their own Champions League ambitions but their night turned sour.
Unai Emery's men have now won just one of their last six games and are in real danger of slipping out of contention for a place in Europe's elite club competition.
Rosenior dropped goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after his poor performance in the 2-1 loss against Arsenal on Sunday and replaced him with Filip Jorgensen.
But the Dane was picking the ball out of the net after just 150 seconds as Villa made a flying start.
Leon Bailey did well down the right and his cutback was dummied by Ollie Watkins, allowing Luiz to flick home his first goal of his second spell at Villa Park.
Chelsea responded well and Villa needed Emiliano Martinez's flying save to keep out Joao Pedro's header before Palmer forced the Argentinian into another save with a shot from distance.
Jorgensen got down well to keep out Morgan Rogers' 34th-minute shot and that proved vital as 44 seconds later the game changed course.
Enzo Fernandez played in Malo Gusto, who beat the offside trap and laid the ball on a plate for Joao Pedro to stab home from close range and level.
Joao Pedro was on target again in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time.
The former Brighton striker was slipped in by Fernandez and his smart dinked finish found the bottom corner.
Chelsea bagged their third goal 10 minutes after the restart as Martinez palmed Reece James' cross straight to Palmer, who powered home a low finish through a crowd of bodies.
Villa were getting picked apart and Joao Pedro claimed the match ball in the 64th minute.
Alejandro Garnacho raced down the left and teed up the Brazilian, who couldn't miss from close range.
(M.Scott--TAG)
