Palmer's showstopper adds to Emery's worries

Bad news for fans of slapstick comedy: Chelsea appear to be serious again.

- Jacob Steinberg

Forget about underhit backpasses, farcical defending and foolish red cards if you happen to be turning up at Stamford Bridge any time soon. It is all about ruthless control these days and Chelsea, who are maturing nicely under Enzo Maresca, had it in spades during this dominant victory over Aston Villa.

Admittedly there were a few scares, not least when Ollie Watkins spurned an opportunity to cancel out Nicolas Jackson's eighth goal of the season, but the essential takeaway was that the outcome was never in any genuine doubt. Chelsea's young talents played with authority throughout and although Maresca was quick to curb talk of a title challenge, the Italian could delight in the way that his players overwhelmed Villa with ferocious pressing and vibrant attacking.

The only negative for Chelsea's head coach was the defender Wesley Fofana going off with a hamstring injury. Otherwise, though, there was much to savour. Maresca loved Jackson's hunger, he saw Moisés Caicedo thrive as a stand-in right-back and he praised Marc Cucurella, whose determined tackle on Jaden Philogene provided the spark when Chelsea went ahead in the seventh minute.