Romelu Lukaku’s opening goal was his first at Stamford Bridge on his 15th appearance in the stadiumChelsea striker Romelu Lukaku said scoring at Stamford Bridge is something he has dreamed about since he was a child, after netting twice in Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa.
The Belgian scored his first ever goals at the stadium either side of a Mateo Kovacic strike as Thomas Tuchel’s side maintained their unbeaten start to the season.
“It’s my dream since I was 11. I’ve worked hard for this moment,” said Lukaku.
He added: “I was up and down at the start [of my career] but I’ve found a certain consistency in the last three years. With experience and hard work, I just keep on working.
“It’s a good start but we have to keep working. We know this year’s going to be very competitive. A lot of teams are going to be fighting for the title.”
Lukaku kissed the club badge as he celebrated his opener in front of Blues fans after beating Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer on his 15th appearance at Stamford Bridge overall.
The Belgian’s clinical finish through Steer’s legs came from a precise pass from Kovacic inside his own half.
Lukaku sealed the win for Chelsea in injury time with a powerful finish down from the edge of the box.
The victory takes Tuchel’s side up to second – level on points and goal difference with leaders Manchester United – and sees the club reach a significant milestone as they become only the second team in Premier League history to reach 600 wins in the competition (Man Utd have 690).
Villa made to pay for missed chancesSmith says Chelsea result was ‘unjust’ on his Villa teamVilla’s preparations for their trip to Stamford Bridge were disrupted with the absence of first-choice goalkeeper Emi Martinez and winger Emi Buendia, who missed out because of quarantine rules after the international break.
Stand-in goalkeeper Steer was in for a busy afternoon with Chelsea forcing three corners inside the opening 10 minutes, and they finally opened the scoring on the quarter-hour.
The Blues broke down the Villa defence after a superb pass from Kovacic inside his own half found Lukaku on the edge of the box.
The Belgian slalomed past Villa defender Axel Tuanzebe before sweeping past Steer for his second Premier League goal of the season.
Dean Smith’s side created plenty of chances after going 1-0 down and managed four shots on target, but could not find a way past Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Villa enjoyed a bright spell after conceding and nearly responded when Ollie Watkins’ low drive forced Mendy into an impressive reaction save, diving low to his right to keep out the forward on his first start of the season.
Mendy was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first half and had a let off when Watkins rounded him only to take one too many touches and allow Thiago Silva to get back and block his goal-bound effort.
Mendy redeemed himself with two saves in quick succession to deny Villa defenders Mings and Ezri Konsa, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Kovacic doubled Chelsea’s lead four minutes after the restart.
And they were punished for their wasted chances when Kovacic doubled Chelsea’s lead early in the second half with a first-time finish into the bottom corner from Tyrone Mings’ weak back pass.
After making the first goal, the Croatia midfielder pounced on a weak Mings pass to put the ball beyond Steer and into the far corner for only his second ever Premier League goal.
Villa managed to keep Lukaku relatively quiet, with the 28-year-old managing just 25 touches of the ball in 93 minutes – less than any player who started the game.
While he was restricted to just two chances, Lukaku scored from them both, firing into the roof of the net from Cesar Azpilicueta’s pass to make it eight goals in his last six Premier League outings against Villa.
Chelsea can play better – TuchelReaction to Chelsea v Aston Villa, plus all the rest of Saturday’s Premier League actionEverything you need to know about the Blues, all in one placeEverything you need to know about Villa, all in one placePlayer of the match
LukakuRomelu Lukaku
with an average of 8.61
ChelseaSquad number9Player nameLukaku
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number16Player nameMendy
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
Squad number5Player nameJorginho
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Squad number3Player nameAlonso
Squad number22Player nameZiyech
Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi
Squad number11Player nameWerner
Squad number17Player nameSaúl
Aston VillaSquad number11Player nameWatkins
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
Squad number31Player nameBailey
Squad number4Player nameKonsa
Squad number41Player nameRamsey
Squad number15Player nameTraoré
Squad number2Player nameCash
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
Squad number3Player nameTargett
Squad number16Player nameTuanzebe
Squad number20Player nameIngs
Squad number19Player nameNakamba
Squad number12Player nameSteer
Squad number5Player nameMings
Line-upsChelseaFormation 3-4-2-1
16Mendy
14Chalobah6Thiago Silva2Rüdiger
20Hudson-Odoi8Kovacic17Saúl3Alonso
22Ziyech29Havertz
9Lukaku
16Mendy14Chalobah6Thiago Silva2Rüdiger20Hudson-OdoiSubstituted forWernerat 82’minutes8Kovacic17SaúlSubstituted forJorginhoat 45’minutes3AlonsoBooked at 61mins22Ziyech29HavertzSubstituted forAzpilicuetaat 64’minutes9LukakuSubstitutes1Arrizabalaga4Christensen5Jorginho11Werner12Loftus-Cheek18Barkley19Mount21Chilwell28AzpilicuetaAston VillaFormation 5-3-2
12Steer
2Cash4Konsa16Tuanzebe5Mings3Targett
41Ramsey6Douglas Luiz7McGinn
20Ings11Watkins
12Steer2Cash4Konsa16Tuanzebe5MingsBooked at 28mins3TargettBooked at 90mins41RamseyBooked at 8minsSubstituted forBaileyat 56’minutes6Douglas LuizSubstituted forNakambaat 79’minutes7McGinnBooked at 90mins20IngsSubstituted forTraoréat 69’minutes11WatkinsSubstitutes8Sanson15Traoré18Young19Nakamba21El Ghazi30Hause31Bailey35Archer38SinisaloReferee:Stuart Attwell
Attendance:39,969
Live TextMatch ends, Chelsea 3, Aston Villa 0.
Second Half ends, Chelsea 3, Aston Villa 0.
Goal! Chelsea 3, Aston Villa 0. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by César Azpilicueta.
John McGinn (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Matt Targett (Aston Villa) is shown the yellow card.
Jorginho (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by John McGinn (Aston Villa).
Foul by Timo Werner (Chelsea).
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Thiago Silva.
Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) header from the left side of the six yard box is blocked.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Jorginho.
Attempt blocked. Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Chelsea. Timo Werner replaces Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Attempt missed. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jorginho.
Attempt saved. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Substitution, Aston Villa. Marvelous Nakamba replaces Douglas Luiz.
Offside, Chelsea. Trevoh Chalobah tries a through ball, but Callum Hudson-Odoi is caught offside.
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Trevoh Chalobah.
Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment