Second sight spurs Chelsea

Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0: Gudjohnsen and Lampard prove there is life without Zola

So, no top spot for Christmas but still plenty to cheer about at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea made easy work of a predictable Aston Villa side to consolidate their position in the leading trio. Claudio Ranieri's team are now unbeaten in 10 League games, a run stretching back to early October, and can justifiably regard themselves as title contenders.

The omission of Gianfranco Zola from the starting line-up was a surprise, if only because the little Italian has been playing some of the best football of his Chelsea career. Then again, with two potential title-deciding away-days, at Leeds and Arsenal, coming up before the end of the festive period, perhaps resting the evergreen maestro made sense. No one was arguing with manager Ranieri's decision when the man who stepped into the breach up front, Eidur Gudjohnsen, scored the opener.

The knowledge that a win could take them to the top of the League must have distracted Chelsea, because they very nearly fell behind within a minute of kick-off. Moustapha Hadji, who has reinvented himself as a left-winger of late, caught the Chelsea defence a little cold before delivering a dangerous low cross into the area. Lee Hendrie was on hand to try to steer the ball home, but Graeme Le Saux reacted quickest to divert the goal-bound effort out of play. From the ensuing corner, the ball eventually found a way to the back post, where Olof Mellberg was lurking with intent. The Swedish central defender had no hesitation in rifling in a shot with the outside of his right foot, and might have scored had it not been for the width of the crossbar.

Chelsea slowly took control of proceedings from then on, although they had to wait until the 19th minute to create their first real opening. Boudewijn Zenden executed a wonderful flick to trick the Aston Villa right-back Jlloyd Samuel and give himself space to cross from the left wing. The subsequent delivery was impeccable and should have been converted by the onrushing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but the striker's header flew high over the bar from four yards. Minutes later it was Zenden's turn to hit a difficult half-volley high into the stands.

Mellberg then misjudged the bounce of a Le Saux clearance, allowing Gudjohnsen to steal in behind him and run at goal. However, Zola's replacement for the afternoon took a couple of touches too many, allowing Mellberg to get back and execute the perfect recovery tackle. No matter. Four minutes before the break, Hasselbaink collected the ball just outside the box, bided his time, and then delivered a perfect through-ball to Gudjohnsen. The angle did not favour the Icelandic international, but he somehow squeezed the ball in off the post.

Just as Villa had threatened to score within seconds of the start, so too Chelsea nearly doubled their advantage moments after the interval. Gudjohnsen brought down Le Saux's cross-field ball, turned Gareth Barry inside out, and then unleashed a shot at goal which Enckelman did well to touch over. From the resulting corner, Steve Staunton tried to head the ball backwards to safety but found William Gallas's forehead instead. The ricochet beat everyone before clipping the bar and rebounding to safety.

Chelsea's endeavour merited more and the home side were duly rewarded 10 minutes after the restart with a second, if fortuitous, goal. Frank Lampard, who played throughout like a seasoned international in the heart of the midfield, was at least 40 yards out when he sent in a curling right-foot cross towards Gudjohnsen. The striker beat the offside trap but could not make contact with the spinning ball. Nor could Enckelman, who was put off by Gudjohnsen and watched in disbelief as Lampard's original delivery nestled into the corner of the net.

Graham Taylor decided to take drastic action by making a triple substitution, but it was to no avail. Villa had been totally outplayed and have a long end of season ahead of them. You knew it was not to be their day when the Chelsea goalkeeper, Carlo Cudicini, made two wonderful late stops to deny the visitors a consolation goal. At the final whistle, a number of disgruntled away fans made their feelings clear, demanding the resignation of their manager. There were no such noises among the Blues, but then they can look forward to a serious push for the title.