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Romelu Lukaku ends his Stamford Bridge goal wait with ruthless double for Chelsea against Aston Villa

Matt Law
·14-min read
Chelsea Aston Villa Premier League live score latest updates - REUTERS
Chelsea Aston Villa Premier League live score latest updates - REUTERS

This was a day for comebacks and while the big one might have been 160 miles north of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s supporters witnessed two goals from their own returning hero: Romelu Lukaku.

Playing in front of the home fans for the first time since returning to the club for £97.5 million, Lukaku showed that the boy who last played at the venue in 2013 – as a substitute against Aston Villa – had returned very much a man.

In Lukaku, Chelsea have signed the finished product, the player to make the difference, and he did so against Villa with the first Stamford Bridge goals of his career, although Mateo Kovacic must also take huge credit for this victory.

Just as Manchester United are now pinning their hopes on Cristiano Ronaldo, Lukaku can be relied upon to be clinical for head coach Thomas Tuchel’s team, when the chances fall his way.

Lukaku only touched the ball 25 times, less than any other outfield player, but two of those were goals. “They were two very difficult goals, no easy tap-ins, and he made the difference for us,” Tuchel said. “He adds something to the group we did not have, so we are very happy. We escaped with the perfect result; perfect for our striker.”

Mason Mount, Andreas Christensen, captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Jorginho started on the Chelsea bench following busy international schedules, but the decision to give Lukaku his Stamford Bridge return proved to be an inspired one.

The Belgian had Kovacic to thank for superbly setting him away in the 15th minute with a pass that cut through the Villa midfield, but then it was all about a striker at the very top of his game.

Despite Axel Tuanzebe moving across to cover, Lukaku never looked like doing anything but scoring and he checked inside the defender before shooting past Jed Steer in the Villa goal.

Just as United fans had arrived at Old Trafford desperate to see Ronaldo score, so Stamford Bridge erupted when Lukaku hit the back of the net.

He saved his second goal until time added on and sent the Chelsea fans home happy that their No 9 will be more than a match for United’s famous No 7.

Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their first goal - REUTERS
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their first goal - REUTERS

Chelsea had already hit the crossbar before taking the lead, when Ezri Konsa almost deflected a corner into his own net, and Villa could have folded after falling behind. Instead they responded to the setback well and should have gone in at the interval at least on level terms, with Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva keeping them out.

First, Mendy saved well low down to his right to stop an Ollie Watkins shot, and the Chelsea goalkeeper was then indebted to Silva for preventing the Villa striker from equalising.

While Lukaku made an instant impact on his Stamford Bridge comeback, loan signing Saul Niguez was finding his first appearance more difficult. Signed on transfer deadline day from Atletico Madrid, Saul was caught in possession far too regularly by John McGinn and when the Scot caught him out in the 23rd minute, it should have resulted in a goal.

McGinn took the ball off Saul too easily 20 yards from the Chelsea goal and played in Watkins. The striker pushed the ball past Mendy and looked certain to find the net, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Silva.

Mendy rescued Chelsea again as he made a brilliant double save, first from Tyrone Mings and then from Konsa, who could not believe he had not scored.

Edouard Mendy was in fine form -  Shutterstock
Edouard Mendy was in fine form - Shutterstock

It was no surprise that Saul’s difficult debut was cut short by Tuchel, who decided to replace him with Jorginho at half-time in an attempt to regain some control – and they did just that four minutes after the break thanks to an absolute gift from Mings.

Under pressure from Kovacic, Mings first miscontrolled a pass into him and then sold Steer horribly short with a dreadful back pass that put Kovacic in on goal and the Croatian finished into the corner of the net.

“Up until the second goal, I was really pleased with the performance,” Dean Smith, the Villa manager, said. “We asked a lot of questions from a very good team. The biggest disappointment is we didn’t take our chances.”

Mendy saved again from Watkins before Marcos Alonso flashed a shot wide. But from only his second chance, Lukaku rifled a left-foot shot into the net following another mistake from Mings. Chelsea had not been brilliant, but they had been clinical.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa: As it happened...

06:41 PM

That's all folks

Thanks as always for joining us. I must now implore you to head over to our coverage of Emma Raducanu's US Open final showdown with Leylah Fernandez.

You can follow that match here.

06:25 PM

FULL TIME: Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa

All over at Stamford Bridge as Lukaku scores twice in a convincing win at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea become the 2nd team to reach 600 Premier League wins and they look like genuine title contenders.

06:22 PM

90mins: Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa GOAL LUKAKU

BOOOM. Lukaku caps a quality performance with an emphatic finish from the edge of the box.

06:19 PM

90mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Four minutes of stoppage time.

06:19 PM

89mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Double yellow card for Villa's Targett and McGinn. The ref deems McGinn's tackle on Jorginho to be dangerous while Targett is booked for dissent.

06:13 PM

84mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Goalline clearance by Thiago Silva from Watkins' header. Villa get another corner and McGinn blasts wide.

06:10 PM

82mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Chelsea's third sub. Hudson Odoi off, Werner on for the final minutes.

06:08 PM

81mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Mendy will not be beaten it seems. Another solid save to deny Watkins' shot.

06:07 PM

79mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Final Villa subs sees Douglas Luiz come off and Nakamba replace him.

06:04 PM

75mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Alonso fires just wide after pinball in the Villa box. A third goal would certainly seal all three points.

06:02 PM

73mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Konsa wins the header from a Villa corner again but Mendy is there again to deny him.

06:01 PM

71mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Prolonged period of Chelsea possession leads to 'Oles' from the crowd. They are in full control now.

05:57 PM

68mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Second change for Villa - Ings off, Traore on.

05:52 PM

64mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Second Chelsea sub. Azpilicueta comes on for Havertz.

05:49 PM

61mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Alonso booked after a foul on Bailey. Was a great piece of skill by the Jamaican which led to that.

05:48 PM

59mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Watkins has a shot deflected over for a corner. Chelsea once again clear the ball. Villa haven't made the most of their set pieces today.

05:44 PM

56mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

First sub for Villa sees Bailey replace Ramsey.

05:43 PM

54mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa

Targett knocks over Ziyech. Free kick in a dangerous position for Chelsea. Ziyech whips the ball in but it is straight into the hands of Steer.

05:38 PM

48mins: Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa GOAL KOVACIC

Mings is far too casual with his pass back to Steer and Kovacic latches on to the loose back pass and fires home to double Chelsea's lead.

05:35 PM

46mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Early corner for Villa. McGinn's delivery is missed by Mendy and Lukaku heads over for another corner.

Chelsea clear again.

05:33 PM

KICK OFF: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

After struggling in the first half, Saul has been taken off for Jorginho by Tuchel.

05:19 PM

HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Chelsea lead at the break but only just. Lukaku's first-ever goal at Stamford Bridge is the difference but Villa are still in this game.

05:17 PM

45mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Two minutes of stoppage time.

05:15 PM

44mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Saul fouls Watkins wide on the left. Chance for McGinn to swing a ball in. Chelsea clear the danger.

05:12 PM

41mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Again Mendy denyies Villa. Another burst by Ramsey from Chelsea's midfield and his left footed shot is saved.

05:10 PM

40mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Routine save for Steer in goal after a long distance effort by Ziyech.

05:09 PM

39mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

On the balance of play, Villa deserve to be level but Chelsea continue to lead and look a threat.

05:07 PM

37mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Thiago fouls Ings after Saul gives the ball away. The Chelsea debutant has struggled so far

05:04 PM

32mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Double save by Mendy to deny Villa. First, he saves from Mings then from Douglas. The UEFA Goalkeeper of the Season is keeping his side in the game.

04:58 PM

27mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Villa look lively and they break forward again. The ball is worked to Douglas but he fires well over.

Mings is now booked for a foul on Hudson Odoi.

04:55 PM

24mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Villa win the ball high, McGinn feeds Watkins about the Villa striker takes too long to go around Mendy and his scruffed shot is blocked by Thiago Silva.

04:53 PM

22mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Foul by Havertz on Ramsey. Chance for a good delivery into the box by McGinn. Konsa wins it again at the far post but the ball is cleared.

04:48 PM

18mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa

Big save by Mendy to deny Watkins' near post effort.

04:46 PM

15mins: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa GOAL LUKAKU

It is that man again. Kovacic plays a delightful through ball. Tuanzebe dives in, misses the ball as Lukaku dummies and the striker finishes clinically.

04:43 PM

13mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Alonso is able to continue. Chelsea do have Chilwell on standby if needed.

04:41 PM

10mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

How have Chelsea not scored?! A corner by Hudson-Odoi to the near post evades everyone. It hits Konsa and the ball comes off the bar and is cleared.

Down the other end, a crunching tackle by Cash on Alonso and the Chelsea skipper is in need of treatment.

04:38 PM

7mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Ramsey booked for a pull back on Ziyech. 83 mins to go on a yellow card. Not ideal.

04:37 PM

6mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Great run by Ramsey as he drives into the box, his cut back is cleared by Rudiger. The ball is swung back into the box and it's deflected for a corner.

04:35 PM

4mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Free kick from the left by McGinn. Konsa gets his head on it but puts it wide.

04:32 PM

2mins: Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa

Rampaging run forward by Rudiger and he gets a corner after a deflection. It eventually comes to nothing but Chelsea have made a bright start.

04:30 PM

KICK OFF Chelsea vs Aston Villa

Aston Villa get the match underway at Stamford Bridge.

04:28 PM

Teams are out

Villa come out first and they are followed by the Chelsea players, who receive a huge ovation.

04:22 PM

Chelsea's new man

04:04 PM

Pre-game stats via Opta

  • Chelsea have lost just one of their last 16 home league games against Aston Villa (W11 D4), going down 3- 1 in December 2011.
  • Aston Villa won their last Premier League meeting with Chelsea, winning 2-1 on the final day of last season. They’ve not won consecutive league games against the Blues since October 1993 under Ron Atkinson.
  • Since Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of Chelsea, only Manchester City (51) have won more Premier League points than the Blues (45 – W13 D6 L3). The Blues also have the meanest defence in that run (excluding the promoted sides) with just 14 goals conceded.
  • Aston Villa won three of their six Premier League games in London last season (D1 L2), as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 29 top-flight games in the capital (W3 D4 L22).

03:52 PM

Team news breakdown

Saul Niguez makes his Chelsea debut as Marcos Alonso captains the team for the first time in the Premier League.

There are six changes from their 1-1 league draw at Liverpool, with Callum Hudson-Odoi starting at right wing-back.

Tyrone Mings returns as captain for Villa, who have Jed Steer starting in goal with No 1 Emi Martinez unable to play.

03:43 PM

Line-ups

Chelsea: Mendy, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Hudson-Odoi, Kovacic, Saul, Alonso, Ziyech, Havertz, Lukaku.

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Jorginho, Werner, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Chilwell, Azpilicueta, Barkley.

Aston Villa: Steer, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Tuanzebe, Targett, Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Ings, Watkins.

Subs: Sanson, Traore, Young, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Hause, Bailey, Archer, Sinisalo.

03:31 PM

Aston Villa starting XI

03:31 PM

Chelsea starting XI

03:22 PM

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to coverage of the late kick off between Chelsea and Aston Villa from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have made an impressive start to the season, taking seven points from their opening three games. And on transfer deadline day they added to an already powerful squad with the addition of Saul Niguez.

The 26-year-old joined on loan from Atletico Madrid in a move that has the potential to be made permanent next summer. And Blues boss Tuchel insisted the Spain star will slot in well to Chelsea's defensive midfield ranks alongside N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.

"As you know, we agreed for Billy Gilmour to go to Norwich to have more minutes at the highest level, he was our fourth midfielder last season," said Tuchel. "Now with the Covid situation and the Euros and Copa America I personally was a bit concerned to go into the season with only Jorginho, N'Golo and Mateo Kovacic.

"Not because of a lack of quality or character; I'm the happiest coach I can be to have these three guys. But it's a bit unpredictable, we have a Club World Cup to play in December and nobody knows exactly how many games there are to come.

"Normally two of those three guys always play, so once you have one injured or suspended you already are in danger of overloading the players. So we were looking for alternatives, but not desperately.

"Saul was on the radar for Chelsea for many, many years, I'd known the player for many, many years and was fighting with other clubs for the player and it was never possible. So when the situation came that it was possible for a loan we were excited about it."

Aston Villa will be without Emi Martinez and Emi Buendia after returning from South America following the farcical scenes which saw Argentina's game against Brazil abandoned on Sunday.

"It was a no-win situation all round. Each club had to come up with the best solution for themselves," Villa boss Dean Smith said. "Legally I don't think we had any right to ban our players. It's a World Cup, they have a right to choose whether they want to go and play for their countries or not.

"I didn't want them to travel but when I saw the passion they had we had to come up with a compromise for all parties.

"We all had a predicament - players, club teams, national teams - on do we allow them to go across and play for their countries and potentially miss two or three games? We were all in a rock and a hard place. Once our players made it clear they had spoken to other players in Argentina and wanted to play we had to come to a compromise.

"We managed to find that, they played the one game and they are quarantining now and back ready to play against Everton next week. They are in Croatia, we spoke with the relevant authorities and government officials to make sure it was the right thing to do. They are training over there."