While Joao Pedro grabbed the headlines with a historic hat-trick at Villa Park, Liam Rosenior was quick to highlight Alejandro Garnacho as the unsung hero during Chelsea’s 4-1 rout.
It was one of the most complete performances under Liam Rosenior to date, with domination throughout after the first two minutes of the game. The lowest rating we gave any Chelsea player was a six, which puts into perspective just how well the Blues played.
Chelsea can thank Joao Pedro for his hat-trick, which has taken his tally to 17 goals and nine assists in all competitions, but it was a good all-round display.
But it was the performance of Alejandro Garnacho that really set things up for Chelsea. He was quite often the architect, bringing the ball forward and driving at Matty Cash.
Joao Pedro scores a perfect 10, but how would you rate his teammates?
Chelsea player ratings vs Aston Villa
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Liam Rosenior hails Alejandro Garnacho’s complete performance
Garnacho silenced some critics with his impressive display, showing he can cut it on the defensive side of things, not just in attack.
And Liam Rosenior showed his appreciation for the winger’s display.
“He was outstanding. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him. I said to him, ‘I knew he would play well tonight’, just because of how he’s training.
“When you’re professional, you do everything right on the training pitch and take it onto the pitch. The intensity he has trained at, it’s no coincidence he’s played like that today.
“I love how unselfish he was to set up the goal for Joao.”
Rate Alejandro Garnacho’s performance 1️⃣ to 🔟
Alejandro Garnacho's performance in numbers from Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Joao Pedro’s stats against Aston Villa
Joao Pedro bagged a hat-trick at Villa Park, surpassing Didier Drogba’s record at Chelsea from his first full season at Stamford Bridge.
Despite only having 42 touches and a passing accuracy of 56%, Pedro made his mark. As well as this, he completed one dribble, had four shots on target, one assist, made two tackles and won six duels.
Rosenior even told Peter Crouch just how good Pedro is after the game.
“Scary. But all of them, the age that they are, it’s a joy to work with.
“His mentality, he’s a warrior, a brilliant footballer, but he’s strong, he’s physical. We’ve worked on his positioning in the box. Two of his goals I’m delighted with because they’re literally in the six-yard box.”
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