Chelsea fell behind inside three minutes as Leon Bailey ran past Jorrel Hato and rolled a slow cross into the box, which saw Ollie Watkins hold off Wesley Fofana and allow Douglas Luiz to ghost in ahead of Reece James to convert. But the visitors eventually had their leveller after the half-hour mark as Enzo Fernandez picked out Malo Gusto on the right wing, and the Frenchman delivered a pinpoint cross for Joao Pedro to tap in at the back post.
Just before the break, Villa thought they had nipped back in front when Chelsea committed too many men forward. James' loose pass was cut out, which allowed the hosts to break at pace, with Watkins tucking away after running in behind. However, he was deemed offside by a matter of inches after a VAR check and the Blues were let off the hook.
In the last of eight added minutes at the end of the first half, Chelsea pulled in front for the first time. The lively Alejandro Garnacho kept the ball well down the left before finding Fernandez inside, and he dinked a ball into Pedro - onside by the slimmest of margins, contrasting with Watkins' earlier effort - to convert from a tight angle.
After the interval, Cole Palmer added Chelsea's third after James' ball into the box was pushed away by Emiliano Martinez, as the Blues' No.10 was on hand to smash back in the rebound and extend the visitors' advantage.
Pedro then wrapped up his hat-trick on 64 minutes when Palmer exploited Villa's high line with a delicious through ball for Garnacho, and he selflessly squared for Pedro to roll into an empty net. Fortunately for Villa, that was the end of the Blues' scoring for one night.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Villa Park...
