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A sense of serenity tends to befall a team that has a lethal finisher in mind. This is the kind of game Chelsea would have blown up last season. Aston Villa were clumsy opponents, especially in a test first half for Thomas Tuchel’s side, and it might have been a different story had they been more cruel when they were at the top.
Instead, after a day dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to English football, the glory belonged to another expensive Serie A import. The narrative belonged to Romelu Lukaku, whose clinical touch in front of goal gave Chelsea the appearance of a real contender for the title. The Belgian was exceptional, calming Chelsea’s nerves in the first half, and he gave the score a deceptively emphatic impression with a spectacular goal in the closing stages.
The pattern of play during the opening period was a perfect illustration of why Chelsea broke their transfer record for Lukaku. Somehow, while inferior to Villa in almost every aspect of the game, they were ahead when the gap arrived. Dean Smith’s side had done next to nothing wrong and yet they always found themselves late when they returned to the locker room, their frustration overwhelming as they remembered a series of wasted chances, an inspired goalie of Édouard Mendy and the moment they allowed Lukaku to squirm in their grip.
Chelsea had struggled to convince ahead of Lukaku’s splendid debut in the 15th minute, with Saúl Ñiguez blown away by the speed of play after making his debut alongside Mateo Kovacic in midfield. The Spaniard looked uncomfortable from the first whistle and Villa midfielders duly identified him as a weak link, pushing him back on several occasions before seeking to send Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins behind local defense.
It was a clever ploy on the visitors’ part, which matched Chelsea’s 3-4-3 system, and it should have brought a payoff in the middle of half-time. John McGinn played Watkins on goal and the forward looked certain to score after getting around Mendy, but Thiago Silva turned him down with a magnificent block.
Watkins had threatened from further away as well, cutting inside to the left and forcing Mendy to push his effort away. The chances were mounting for Villa and they would have equalized without a wonderful goalkeeper from Mendy shortly before half-time. The Chelsea keeper did well to fend off a firm drive from Tyrone Mings and he showed wonderful reflexes to save the rebound, hopping to his feet to catch Ezri Konsa’s scuffed shot.
Unlikely, Chelsea survived with their lead intact. Their clinical advantage, combined with a good dose of luck, had made the difference. Although they were lethargic they still had enough quality and they made it count when Kovacic, swerving in midfield with a nice shimmy, sent Lukaku clearly with a sublime pass to the left.
As with all the best forwards, Lukaku was content to wait for his luck to arrive. The forward broke free, cut inside to avoid Axel Tuanzebe’s desperate lunge and crushed a low shot in front of Jed Steer with his right foot.
In the end, Villa, who was without the isolating duo of Emi Buendía and Emiliano Martínez, had only themselves to blame. They took little satisfaction in forcing Tuchel to pull Saúl out of his misery and bring in Jorginho at halftime. Instead, there was the feeling of a missed opportunity for much of the second half, with deflation setting in after a terrible backpass from Mings saw Kovacic double Chelsea’s lead at the 49th minute.
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Barely the deadliest of finishers, Kovacic easily accepted the chance to score his first goal since December 2019. The Croatian capped a solid performance by sweeping the ball past Steer and Villa had no choice but to accept their comes out, even though Watkins came close to pulling one off with a shot that went right past it.
Ultimately, Chelsea sailed to victory. Callum Hudson-Odoi, making his first appearance of the season, performed well at right-back and the last word went to Lukaku, who smashed his second in stoppage time after a magnificent run from substitute Caesar Azpilicueta.
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