Chelsea were handed a scare by two Aston Villa second half goals, but thanks to some of Villa's trademark rubbish set piece defending and a goal from a very unlikely source, they ended up winning by a score that looks somewhat comfortable. The Blues relinquished an early lead and allowed Villa to equalize at 2-2, but scored twice in the final 10 minutes to win 4-2.
Aston Villa Vs. Chelsea, 2012 Premier League: Fernando Torres! And Five Other Goals!
It took just nine minutes for Chelsea to take the lead through Daniel Sturridge. Juan Mata set up the chance with a cross into the box towards Fernando Torres, who had his shot brilliantly blocked by Stephen Warnock. Unfortunately for Villa, the deflection fell to an unmarked Sturridge, who had a simple finish.
Branislav Ivanovic doubled Chelsea's lead just after halftime with a header on a very poorly marked corner kick. At that point, Chelsea did the footballing equivalent of setting their cruise control at the speed limit, then ceasing to pay attention to the road. They fell asleep and smacked the hell out of the guard rail.
James Collins pulled a goal back in the 77th minute with a header by James Collins, assisted by Eric Lichaj. The American international fullback would find a goal of his own just three minutes later, tapping in a Marc Albrighton cross at the back post after he completely lost Ashley Cole. Out of absolutely nowhere, Aston Villa were level.
It only lasted three minutes. Once again, their set piece defending failed them, as Ivanovic was gifted yet another easy headed goal in the 83rd minute to put the Blues back on top. They put the exclamation point on the win with a goal from Fernando Torres, who got on the end of a through ball by Sturridge to net just his third league goal of the season.
For more on the two teams, head over to Aston Villa blog 7500 to Holte and Chelsea blog We Ain’t Got No History.
See More:
