Enzo Fernandez's midfield magic unlocked Aston Villa, paving the way for a dominant Chelsea victory and crucial European qualification.
Chelsea took a six-point lead against Aston Villa. Obviously, their 4-1 victory only granted them three points, but the visitors won a key duel in the fight to qualify for international cups thanks to Joao Pedro's hat trick and a great performance from Enzo Fernandez.
The Villains started at full throttle at Villa Park with a spectacular back-heel goal from Douglas Luiz 119 seconds into the match, and Dibu Martinez appeared in all his splendor five minutes into the clock to reject a header from Pedro with a reflex save. They seemed to be signs that the English night would tilt in favor of the home side.
However, the Blues took revenge for those interventions when the ball went through Enzo Fernandez. The midfielder with a past at River Plate and Benfica lifted a pass from midfield, which seemed to deflect off an opponent, to Malo Gusto's run down the right flank. The fullback stepped into the area and executed a simple low pass for Joao Pedro to push the ball into the net (1-1) in the 34th minute.
At the end of the first half, VAR was the main protagonist because it disallowed Aston Villa's 2-1 for an offside by a fraction and validated Chelsea's 2-1, which was converted by Pedro at the 50th minute after a great assist from Enzo Fernandez, who had in turn received the ball through a connection with Alejandro Garnacho.
The assistant and the scorer celebrated that goal together, and the goalscorer pretended to polish the right boot with which Enzo had extended the ball to leave him one-on-one against Martinez. A nod to the great moment the Argentine midfielder is going through.
Enzo Fernandez reached five assists and added to his 11 goals in 41 duels. He also dreams of making a splash in the UEFA Champions League, where he will face Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the round of 16 in a replay of the final won against the Parisians in the last Club World Cup.
With this victory, Chelsea left behind the 1-2 setback against Arsenal as a visitor and climbed to fifth position in the Premier League with 48 points, which for the moment grants them a place in the Europa League. One step above is Aston Villa, which has definitively moved away from the title and sits in fourth place with 51 points, occupying the last direct spot for the next Champions League.
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