Tammy Abraham reinforced his importance to Chelsea by scoring the opener and setting up the second on his return from injury as the Blues returned to winning ways against Aston Villa. Abraham missed the Blues’ home defeat by West Ham with a hip injury and put them ahead against Villa with a firm header from Reece James’ cross. After Villa equalised against the run of play when Trezeguet bundled in, Chelsea regained the lead shortly after the restart when Abraham neatly chested Willian’s cross into the path of Mason Mount who thumped in a volley. Chelsea, like they did in the first half before Trezeguet’s leveller, dominated possession and territory as they looked to increase their advantage. Abraham twice came close to adding a third against the club he helped fire to promotion last season, while Willian - one of Chelsea’s other star performers - hit the post with an exquisite free-kick. The Blues ended a run of back-to-back defeats with a victory which helps them consolidate fourth place, moving them six points clear of nearest rivals Wolves, while narrowing the gap on third-placed Manchester City to three points. Villa, who have won just once on the road this season, remain in 15th place, a point above the relegation zone after Southampton’s win. Abraham’s return lifts Chelsea Following a tough week in which Premier League defeats by Manchester City and West Ham came either side of a Champions League draw at Valencia, Chelsea were looking to avoid three top-flight defeats in a row for the first time in four years. They did that against a toothless Villa side, albeit with a tighter margin of victory than their performance deserved. Mount’s stunning finish proved the difference but, with a refreshed Blues line-up featuring five changes from Saturday’s defeat having 25 attempts at goal, they should have been out of sight. While England attacking midfielder Mount will take the plaudits for the winner, it was Abraham’s return from a hip injury which was the real catalyst for change. The Blues had been wasteful against West Ham and Abraham provided a clinical edge after holding his line to head in from 12 yards. It was a richly deserved lead for the home side with Villa rarely having ventured into the Chelsea box, but it was greeted with muted celebrations from the 22-year-old striker, who scored 25 league goals in 38 Championship matches for Villa in his season-long loan. “I said the club will always be close to my heart, last season was a long, hard season so I pay all my respects to them,” he said afterwards. Blues boss Frank Lampard said before the match that Abraham was still suffering some pain in his hip, yet worked tirelessly throughout in a physical battle against muscular Villa centre-backs Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. After showing exceptional awareness and composure to tee up Mount’s winner, he was unfortunate not to score another himself - clipping wide of the left-hand post and being hustled out of a close-range chance by Mings - before departing to a standing ovation with seven minutes left. Aston Villa manager Dean Smith: “I thought it was a fair result, the better team won. “We had pockets of play throughout the game but not enough relentless pressure. We didn’t start either half well and they put us under pressure. We gave the ball away too cheaply, but got back into the game and when we showed a bit of belief we showed we could give them problems. “They had the initiative, we knew they would start well after losing a London derby on Saturday. --- *The Guardian* *Wednesday, 4 December 2019* Chelsea’s Mason Mount ends goal drought and Aston Villa resistance Once the tributes to John Terry were done, Chelsea got on with showing their former captain the future. There is no place for sentiment in the heat of battle and Frank Lampard’s academy products made sure Aston Villa’s assistant manager did not enjoy his big homecoming too much, earning three important points thanks to excellent goals from Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount. This was a fine victory for Chelsea after their aberration against West Ham. Mount was back to his enterprising best in midfield and Lampard’s side, sitting pretty in fourth place, did well to regain their poise after gifting Villa a soft equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Chelsea created countless chances during the second half and Terry must have known the visitors, a point above the bottom three, were fortunate not to lose by more. Chelsea could not afford to let the nostalgia spilling from the stands blur their focus. They had to ignore the fuss over Terry’s return to the club he captained for 13 glorious years and they had to be ruthless after stumbling against West Ham last weekend. There have been too many slow starts from Chelsea at home this season and they bristled with intensity from the first whistle, pinning Villa back and dominating a lopsided first half. Villa, who sat deep in the hope of frustrating their hosts, struggled to live with Chelsea’s speed at times. There were ominous signs as early as the fifth minute, when Christian Pulisic charged unopposed through the middle before teeing up Willian to sting Tom Heaton’s palms, and it was not particularly encouraging when a botched clearance from Tyrone Mings gifted Abraham a glimpse of goal. The Villa centre-back was relieved to see Abraham fluff his volley. With N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovacic in control in midfield, the question during the early stages was whether Chelsea could find a cutting edge. They needed more from Mason Mount and there were times when they seemed to be grasping for inspiration. Mount fired high and wide after wriggling into space on the edge of the area and Villa were beginning to gain confidence at the back after making it through the opening 20 minutes without giving any real opportunities. The good news, though, was that Abraham was back after missing the defeat by West Ham with a hip injury. The striker’s mobility makes such a difference to Chelsea’s attack and he was merciless when his chance arrived in the 24th minute. Reece James dinked a lovely cross into the middle from the right and Abraham, who scored 26 goals during his loan spell at Villa last season, peeled away from Ezri Konsa before planting an accurate header beyond Heaton. Yet frailties lingered at the other end. Chelsea’s defence lacks a leader in the Terry mould these days and Villa, who had offered nothing on the ball for much of the half, conjured an equaliser out of the blue in the 41st minute. Jack Grealish drifted inside from the left in search of the ball and when it was worked out to Ahmed Elmohamady on the right, James’s failure to react to the Egyptian’s cross at the far post allowed Trézéguet to bundle a messy finish past Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was naive defending from James, a 19-year-old right-back who still has much to learn, but inconsistency is inevitable from such a young team. It is part of Chelsea’s appeal and they demonstrated the benefits of youthful exuberance early in the second half, Abraham’s clever chest control from Willian’s chip giving Mount the chance to adjust his body and slash a beautiful volley high to Heaton’s left. Mount’s first goal since 6 October lightened the mood and Chelsea continued to squeeze Villa. Willian saw a deflected cross spin inches wide and the Brazilian forced Heaton to make an excellent save with a fierce drive in the 61st minute. Villa were clinging on and their difficulties were encapsulated by Grealish, who had appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty during the first half, sliding into the advertising hoardings after being hounded off the ball by Kanté. Taunted by the crowd all night, Grealish was looking increasingly flustered and his woes deepened when he spurned a decent opportunity, swiping at thin air at the far post. It was turning into a tough night for Villa’s biggest creative threat. The only worry for Chelsea was their inability to make sure of the win. Mount went close from 25 yards, Abraham dinked wide after being played through on goal, Pulisic was denied after wriggling into the area from the left and Willian had a free-kick tipped on to a post by Heaton. Somehow Villa were alive in the closing stages and they almost snatched an undeserved point when Arrizabalaga kept out a late header from Douglas Luiz. --- *Sky Sports* *Wednesday, 4 December 2019* Chelsea returned to winning ways as Mason Mount’s thunderous volley secured a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge. The hosts broke the deadlock when Tammy Abraham rose to head in his 11th Premier League goal of the season (24) against the side he scored 26 times for on loan last season. But Dean Smith’s side levelled against the run of play before half-time as Trezeguet scrambled the ball over the line from close range (41). That result moves Chelsea six points clear of fifth-placed Wolves but, perhaps more significantly, eight clear of Manchester United and nine ahead of Tottenham. Aston Villa remain 15th after their two-match unbeaten run was ended in west London. Terry returned to Chelsea for the first time since making the last of his 717 appearances for the club in May 2017 against Sunderland, ending his 22 years’ worth of service with a fifth Premier League trophy in his hands. The former centre-back was given a guard of honour that day after 26 minutes in recognition of the shirt number, and the Aston Villa assistant was given a warm reception by the supporters who once idolised him. His banner ‘captain, leader, legend’ decorated the Matthew Harding End on Wednesday as it had during the 1-0 home defeat to West Ham four days earlier; a match in which Chelsea had failed to commit a single foul, a statistic that would never have occurred during Terry’s time. Tottenham had closed to within six points of them in the fourth and final Champions League place, but Chelsea were rewarded for a bright start against Villa. Willian forced Tom Heaton into an early save before Abraham fluffed a presentable chance as Tyrone Mings failed to clear Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross. Mount lacked power and accuracy with two quickfire attempts, but Chelsea deservedly took the lead when Abraham rose in between Mings and Heaton to head into the unguarded net from Reece James’ cross. But three minutes before the interval, Villa were level as Jack Grealish combined with John McGinn before Ahmed Elmohamady’s low cross was met by Trezeguet, who hooked the ball home at the second attempt. It was the first Premier League goal to be both scored and assisted by Egyptian players - but the second half was one-way traffic, with Chelsea emphatically restoring their lead three minutes after the restart. Willian was afforded too much space by Matt Targett to deliver the cross from the right and Abraham’s expert lay-off with his chest was blasted into the top corner by Mount for his first Premier League in seven games and 10 in total for club and country. Azpilicueta, on his return to the side, saw his shot fizz a yard wide of the post before Mount came close to his second when his rising shot from outside the box just cleared the crossbar. Instead, it really ought to have been Abraham who doubled his tally for the night when he was put through by Willian after 73 minutes, but from a tight angle, the striker clipped his shot wide of Heaton’s far post. It was Willian’s turn to come within inches of putting the contest to bed when his free-kick was brilliantly clawed away by Heaton to keep Villa in the game. Villa very nearly snatched an unlikely point in the final minute of normal time as Douglas Luiz rose to meet Mohamady’s cross but Kepa Arrizabalaga produced a fine save to keep Chelsea’s lead intact.