Sun 30th Nov - Stamford Bridge
Last updated: 5th October 2008
Cole: Scored opener
Chelsea continued their unbeaten start to the campaign with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues were masterful in the first-half and Joe Cole deservedly put them in front on 21 minutes from a Frank Lampard pass.
The goal came as the Blues pushed down the left and worked the ball to Lampard in the middle who in turn fed it through to Cole on the right of the box and he made no mistake.
They then doubled their advantage a minute before half-time after another great move down the left.
Ashley Cole pulled the ball back from near the by-line to Michael Ballack in the middle who unleashed a powerful shot which Brad Friedel could only parry and Nicolas Anelka tucked away the rebound.
Villa were better in the second period but Chelsea coasted to a win which keeps them top.
Friedel's busy afternoon in goal for Villa started with two early saves.
The first effort was from Michael Ballack, who fizzed a drive from 25 yards, then Florent Malouda had a go from the left flank at a similar distance.
Frank Lampard had the first clear opening of the game, in the 18th minute, when Anelka found him with a cross, only for the England midfielder to head wide.
Cole took one touch and lashed his finish past Friedel and inside the near post, his third of the season.
Anelka could have doubled the lead when he cracked a drive from 30 yards but his effort smashed against the crossbar - starting the onslaught on Friedel's goal.
The American goalkeeper parried a Lampard free-kick and also denied Malouda with another skidding drive.
He also made a double save in the 43rd minute, but could not prevent Anelka tapping in the rebound. Ashley Cole had crossed from the left, Ballack's drive and Anelka's follow up were saved - but the Frenchman made sure with his next effort.
It was Anelka's last contribution as he was taken off at the break for Di Santo, while Villa took off Davies and Luke Young, with James Milner and Carlos Cuellar coming on.
Stiliyan Petrov did have an effort saved by Petr Cech - but then there was more attacking from Chelsea.
Then midfielder Cole picked up his apparent foot injury and hobbled down the tunnel, with Salomon Kalou taking his place.
Wastefulness from Ballack at close range, then a brave block from Friedel to deny Kalou, kept the score down. Kalou also had an overhead striker disallowed for offside - and another goal would not have flattered the hosts.
| Chelsea | Team Statistics | Aston Villa |
| 2 | Goals | 0 |
| 2 | 1st Half Goals | 0 |
| 14 | Shots on Target | 1 |
| 13 | Shots off Target | 6 |
| 8 | Blocked Shots | 3 |
| 7 | Corners | 1 |
| 12 | Fouls | 16 |
| 2 | Offsides | 3 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 88.1 | Passing Success | 74.6 |
| 15 | Tackles | 24 |
| 86.7 | Tackles Success | 83.3 |
| 60.7 | Possession | 39.3 |
| 59.3 | Territorial Advantage | 40.7 |
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs Chelsea |
| Tuesday 9th December | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs CFR Cluj-Napoca |
| Sunday 14th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs West Ham |
| Friday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:00 | Chelsea vs West Brom |
| Sunday 28th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | Fulham vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 17th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Stoke |
| Wednesday 28th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Hull |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Wigan |
| Tuesday 3rd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Portsmouth vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 14th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Man City |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 30th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Wednesday 26th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Bordeaux 1 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Saturday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 0 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 15th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Brom 0 - 3 Chelsea | |
| Wednesday 12th November | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley | |
| Sunday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 0 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Tuesday 4th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Roma 3 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Saturday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 5 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wednesday 29th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 0 - 3 Chelsea | |
| Sunday 26th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 0 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Wednesday 22nd October | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Roma | |
| Saturday 18th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 0 - 5 Chelsea | |
| Sunday 5th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 1st October | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| CFR Cluj-Napoca 0 - 0 Chelsea | |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Stoke 0 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Wednesday 24th September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Portsmouth 0 - 4 Chelsea | |
| Sunday 21st September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 1 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Tuesday 16th September | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Chelsea 4 - 0 Bordeaux | |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 1 - 3 Chelsea | |
| Sunday 31st August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Chelsea 1 - 1 Tottenham | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 15 | 34 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 15 | 33 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 14 | 28 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 15 | 26 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 15 | 25 |
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