SOCCER/English League Cup Fourth Round/Chelsea - 4 Aston Villa - 0: If anyone imagined Sunday's defeat at Tottenham would have lasting implications for Chelsea, this rousing victory for Jose Mourinho's team set them straight.
An excellent second-half performance produced three goals that swept aside a disappointing Aston Villa who never managed a shot on target and could have lost more heavily.
Chelsea's reaction to their weekend disappointment will not have been the only heartening aspect for Mourinho when Andriy Shevchenko marked his return to the team with a goal, picking up where he had left off against Portsmouth. He headed in a cross from the impressive Frank Lampard and one burst and shot that stretched Thomas Sorensen was also notable.
In the final 10 minutes Chelsea confirmed their superiority with two goals that demonstrated their blend of power and talent. Geremi's strong run down the right set up Michael Essien to cut inside Olof Mellberg and score powerfully, and then Didier Drogba pounced after a Salomon Kalou shot had been blocked.
Martin O'Neill, twice a League Cup winner while in charge of Leicester City, must have quietly fancied his team's chances of causing an upset. Villa had drawn here in the Premiership in late September and were facing a changed - if not significantly weakened - Chelsea side.
O'Neill made only one alteration from the Villa team that started Saturday's defeat of Blackburn, whereas Mourinho's made five. Yet with Shevchenko up front alongside Drogba and the midfield remaining the same, Chelsea were unquestionably taking this seriously.
Mourinho's side took the lead just after the half-hour, though they otherwise found chances relatively limited in the first half despite growing dominance. Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen denied Drogba in the 12th and 14th minutes, first with a save at the near post and then getting down to stop the striker's attempt to divert a Lampard cross-shot into the net. Lampard was also the supplier of Drogba's earlier effort and it was no great surprise he popped up to head Chelsea into the lead.
What will have annoyed O'Neill was the carelessness that allowed the goal. Aaron Hughes defended well shifted the ball into the feet of Steven Davis. Sadly for Villa, the young midfielder allowed himself to be dispossessed by Ballack near the touchline and showed a strange lack of eagerness to repair the damage. Ballack crossed from the left and an unmarked Lampard headed into the far corner, Sorensen getting a hand to the ball but unable to keep it out.
Given that Villa had been strong and well-organised, with Juan Pablo Angel sometimes dropping into midfield to help defensively, O'Neill will have been dismayed. Chelsea had produced moments of quick, quality passing and were the superior side, but Villa seemed largely comfortable. However they lost captain Gareth Barry to an injury before half-time.
Villa's attacking threat was almost non-existent, their occasional breaks never forcing Carlo Cudicini into action. The pacy Gabriel Agbonlahor caused problems for Khalid Boulahrouz but could not produce a final pass.
Reorganisation at the back was Villa's first task, with the injured Laursen replaced by Liam Ridgewell for the second half. The visitors showed initial bright signs going forward, with Stilian Petrov not far from touching a cross past Cudicini, and Patrik Berger, on for Barry, probed behind Angel, but Villa's creativity remained dismal.
Chelsea were finding opportunities easier to come by as Villa gave them greater space. Shevchenko was twice foiled by Sorensen and then Drogba went close before the Ukrainian found the net. Lampard's cross from the left was headed in by the unmarked Shevchenko to deflate Villa, one of whose fans appeared to throw a bottle on to the pitch in the second half.
CHELSEA: Cudicini; Geremi, Boulahrouz, Carvalho, Bridge; Makelele; Essien, Ballack (J Cole, 76), Lampard; Drogba, Shevchenko (Kalou, 76). Subs not used: Hilario, Diarra, Wright-Phillips.
ASTON VILLA: Sorensen; Hughes, Mellberg, Laursen (Ridgewell, h-t), Bouma; McCann; Davis (Baros, 71), Petrov, Barry (Berger, 45); Angel, Agbonlahor. Subs not used: Taylor, Osbourne.
Referee: M Halsey.
l l l Guardian Service
