Chelsea 1 Aston Villa 3:ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS looked sure to make an impression in England, but the current sequence of surprises has left Chelsea reeling far more than their rivals. With this defeat by Aston Villa his side have now conceded 16 goals at home in the Premier League. In that regard the only clubs with a worse record in the top flight are Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers, who stand 19th and 20th respectively.

“Our squad is not good enough to win the league,” said the manager. “Not this year, not with this distance of points.”

Manchester City were 11 clear of them before the trip to Sunderland. “You can say we might have lost it in December,” said Villas-Boas.

Statistics keep glowering at him. Three defeats at Stamford Bridge to date is already the worst return there in the league since the 2003-2004 campaign in its entirety. The present side still has nine more home fixtures to brave.

In the circumstances Villas-Boas should be relieved that Chelsea can pull rank in one crucial respect. Unlike the Manchester teams, his side will be in the knockout phase of the Champions League, where they face Napoli.

If the weekend display were to be repeated, that tie would not look like a privilege. On Saturday the centre-backs John Terry and David Luiz were vulnerable, but they did not enjoy much cover. When Villas-Boas took off Oriol Romeu and sent on Frank Lampard, the intention was to add to the firepower but, in practice, Villa enjoyed more scope. On another day, the Chelsea manager might have been complimented for his enterprising outlook but on this occasion his side was error-prone already before it took further risks.

Chelsea sabotaged themselves, with Lampard presenting the ball to the outstanding Stephen Ireland, who set up the substitute Darren Bent for Villa’s clincher in the 86th minute.

“Stevie has set a magnificent benchmark in this game,” said the manager, Alex McLeish, with a compliment that doubles as a warning that consistency is now demanded of the midfielder.

McLeish’s team had gone ahead after 83 minutes when Ciaran Clark sent Stilian Petrov through the broad and deserted highway of Chelsea’s central defence. Ireland had brought Villa level at 1-1 in the 28th minute by linking with Charles N’Zogbia before scoring at the second attempt after the initial effort had rebounded to him off Terry’s arm.

It had briefly seemed that Chelsea could wrap themselves up in their own concerns when Didier Drogba opened the scoring with a penalty in the 23rd minute after Richard Dunne had brought him down. The scorer himself acted as if the occasion belonged wholly to him. There was a bow to the fans in the Shed and Drogba may have understood that his 150th goal for the club had made another mark in its history, since he is now level with Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood.

The all-time record at Chelsea is Bobby Tambling’s tally of 202. Drogba, 34 in March, is most unlikely to get to that total even if a new contract is agreed, but he will be missed while on duty with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations.

That, in turn, will make people brood once more about Fernando Torres. The Spaniard came on in this match and immediately lashed a terrific shot against the bar when the score was 1-1.

No wonder people have a habit of mumbling about fate where the striker’s time at Chelsea is concerned. There seems to be no fundamental reason why he should not score regularly, but the breakthrough is always a fraction out of reach.

Does Villas-Boas want to keep Lampard, who turns 34 on June 20th? “For sure, because he is one of the best players in the world.” Continuity is not quite enough at the moment since Chelsea have gone three weeks without a victory following a defeat of Manchester City that raised such hopes.

The manager still sounded dubious about seeking any eye-catching signings in this transfer window.

“It gets very frenetic,” Villas-Boas said, “and we’ll have to see if we need it or not. It must be a sensible decision regarding what we need to win in the future as well.”

A trace of pathos was detected when Villas-Boas went on to say he believed Chelsea could “come through” the next game, at Wolves, and have the “right frame of mind” for the FA Cup tie with Portsmouth at home. He now esteems that knockout trophy and, of course, the Champions League, but these have been chastening days.