CHELSEA EXTENDED THEIR unbeaten run in all competitions to six games with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, whose dismal winless streak reached eight matches.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca insisted this week that his young team are not title contenders in the first season of his rebuilding job.
But they look capable of at least securing Champions League qualification after a third successive win in the space of eight days moved them level on points with second-placed Arsenal.
The famous Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in October feels like a distant memory for 12th placed Villa, who have won only once in the Premier League since then.
Nicolas Jackson put Chelsea in front at Stamford Bridge after just seven minutes with his eighth goal this season.
The Senegal striker met Marc Cucurella’s cross with a volley from eight yards that beat Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez via the near post.
Villa appealed in vain for a foul by Cucurella on Jaden Philogene in the build-up to the goal.
Enzo Fernandez added to Villa’s frustration in the 36th minute as the midfielder took a clever touch before firing home from 12 yards.
Cole Palmer grabbed his eighth goal this season with a superb finish from the edge of the area in the 83rd minute.
 Tom Cairney of Fulham celebrates his equaliser. He was later sent off. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
Elsewhere, seventh-placed Tottenham’s top four hopes were dented by a 1-1 draw at home against 10-man Fulham.
Brennan Johnson slotted Tottenham into the lead from Timo Werner’s 54th minute pass, but Tom Cairney curled Fulham’s equaliser into the far corner after 67 minutes.
Cairney was sent off with seven minutes left after his foul on Dejan Kulusevski was upgraded from referee Darren Bond’s initial yellow card to a red after VAR intervened.
[– © AFP 2024](https://www.afp.com/en/home)