Chelsea vs Aston Villa Player Ratings

Chelsea

Petr Cech - 6
He probably only had one save to make in the whole match. On the day, it probably would not have made a difference to the eventual outcome even if Chelsea didn't have anyone in goal but credit to him for keeping a clean sheet.

Branislav Ivanovic - 8
Followed up on Cahill's fierce shot after Guzan palmed the ball straight in his path, leaving him the simple task of heading the ball into an empty net. Was tidy enough defensively and did a good job in cutting out the supply to Christian Benteke

Ashley Cole - 6.5

Enterprising down the left as usual and will not have an easier game in defence this season.

Gary Cahill - 7.5

Tried to emulate a Martin Skrtel finish (against Fulham) but Guzan had his fingertips to it. Rock solid at the back for Chelsea and combined well with Ivanovic to keep the Villa forwards so quiet that they did not have a single shot on target.

Cesar Azpilicueta - 8.5

Was given acres of spaces by Villa and took full advantage, bombing forward at every opportunity. It was his cross to Fernando Torres that opened the floodgates and the youngster could have had a goal for himself too if not for some excellent work by Guzan.

David Luiz - 10
Deployed in an unfamiliar central midfield role alongside Lampard and exceeded everyone's expectations. Hungry to fight for possession and always seemed to make the right decisions in the middle of the park.

Took the free-kick despite the presence of a host of dead-ball specialists and took Stamford Bridge back in time to when Didier Drogba used to bang them in in similar style. Absolutely stunning performance by the much-maligned Brazilian.

Frank Lampard (61' off) - 8

Finally got his 500th Premier League start of his career! Whether or not he will be in Chelsea colours at the end of the season did not affect his performance in the game. Distributed the ball well to open up the tight Villa defence and scored a trademark goal from distance.

Victor Moses - 4

Dithered too much on the ball and was one of the few Chelsea players who did not impress on the day. Tried to go it alone far too often and failed every single time. His performance actually dipped when Torres was substituted and he started playing in a more advanced role.

Eden Hazard - 7.5

Had a quiet game by his high standards but came to life after the departure of Torres, smashing the ball into the back of the net after he ran into the penalty box unchallenged. 

Juan Mata (74' off) - 7

Great control of the ball from the Spaniard but just lacked the composure to apply the finish in the final third of the pitch. Consistently made the through balls but unfortunately his name was not on the scoresheet - thanks again to Guzan's brilliance.

Fernando Torres (67' off) - 8
Managed a goal from nowhere when he powered home a header under 4 minutes. Looked lively going forward and showed glimpses of his old brilliance. Benitez working his magic?

Substitutions

Ramires (61' on) - 8
Two great finishes from the Blue Kenyan, who scored twice as many goals in half the time on the field in comparison to the man he replaced. Where is the justice in that?

Oscar (67' on) - 8.5
Almost scored with his first touch of the ball and later won his team a penalty which he took and converted himself. His movement and link-up play with the other Chelsea forward men was absolutely superb - and will give Benitez food for thought as he decides on his starting XI for the Boxing Day match.

Lucas Piazon (74' on) - 7
Came on and immediately had an impact on the match, picking out Ramires brilliantly for Chelsea's 4th goal. Tried to follow in Oscar's footsteps by singlehandedly winning and converting a penalty but the execution did not go according to plan. 

Aston Villa

Brad Guzan - 8
No, it is no mistake that a keeper who conceded 8 goals in a game gets such a high rating. Chelsea would have easily got double figures if not for some excellent goalkeeping, not to forget a penalty save from Piazon. 

Ciaran Clark - 3

Failed to track Torres throughout the match and his nightmare 90 minutes ended with him upending Piazon inside the box. Even though the resultant penalty was not converted, Clark, as the captain of the team should shoulder a lot of the blame for allowing the Blues to run riot like they did. 

Chris Herd - 2

Lost the ball needlessly in the midfield areas and his ambitious balls forward merely returned possession back to Chelsea. He was solely at fault for allowing Hazard into the box and backed off when he was about to pull the trigger in the six yard box. Minutes later, he brought Oscar down for what seemed to be a soft penalty. This just wasn't his day.

Nathan Baker - 3 

Was perpetually out of position - the movement of the Chelsea players proving to be far too much for him to handle. Baker, like the rest of the Villa defence, will be in a hurry to forget this particular outing. 

Matthew Lowton - 5 

The most promising of the Villa attacks came from the right and though his crosses from wide were decent, he was repeatedly embarrased by Hazard at the back.

Eric Lichaj (56' off) - 4 

The five men defence were full of holes for the Chelsea players to exploit. That a below-par Moses could still get the better of the American goes to show how bad the Villa defence was.

Ashley Westwood (56' off) - 5 

A good starting few minutes but could not find a solution to the Lampard - Luiz combo. Well, he is still relatively young and has plenty of pointers to take home from this game. 

Barry Bannan - 5 

A miserable individual performance from the man who Villa would normally turn to for sparking a fightback. But both his passes and shots on goal were horribly off the mark on Sunday.

Brett Holman (79' off) - 5 

All his hard work was futile as his side could not keep the ball long enough to create a decent chance. Another culprit of poor ball distribution. 

Christian Benteke - 3

His offside count must have been a record breaker. Benteke never watched the timing of his runs and eventually his team mates hesitated to pass to him, rendering him useless. 

Andreas Weimann - 6.5 

His first real opportunity only came after playing an hour of the game but Cech and the crossbar combined to deny him and Villa even a consolation goal.

Substitutions

Joseph Bennett (56' on) - 4

Nothing the substitute could do but watch Chelsea fire another 5 goals past his team. 

Stephen Ireland (56' on) - 6

Was nowhere near that lethal form from the past but on a bighter note, he injected some variation and creativity into a dull Villa side.

Jordan Bowery (79' on)

N/A