“We were never going to let this slip”

For forty-five minutes at the Drogba Arena this afternoon, Chelsea played like champions of everything, and Aston Villa played like a side fighting for their lives. The gap between them was not merely the sixty yards of green that separated the teams at kick-off; it was the chasm between a club that has won forty-one straight league titles and a club scratching for a point above the relegation zone.

The Blues had been relentless all season, but even by their standards the opening half was a statement. When the teams walked out, the home support expected a win; what they got was a demolition that was over before the half-hour.

Three minutes later, Lionel Messi doubled the lead with a strike that kissed the inside of the post and nestled in the far corner. The Argentine’s celebration was subdued, but the message was not: Chelsea were not here to be generous.

Ferrer added his second and Chelsea’s third in the thirty-fifth minute, another low drive that left Wilkinson with no chance. By then, Aston Villa’s resistance had crumbled. Their back line was stretched, their midfield overrun, and their only consolation was the half-time whistle.

There was a moment of defiance from the visitors in the seventy-second minute, when Jesse Francois pulled one back with a low shot that squirmed under Elias Jimenez. For a brief, tantalising spell, Villa pressed. But Roberto Baggio, on as a substitute, had the final word in stoppage time, steering a low effort inside the post to complete the rout.

Rubén Medina, the game’s outstanding player, was at the heart of everything for the Blues. Two assists and six dribbles told the story of a winger who tormented the Villa full-backs all afternoon. When he was replaced just after the hour, the Drogba Arena rose to applaud.

Aston Villa, to their credit, kept plugging away. Federico Corvalán gave them a creative spark, and their goalkeeper made eight saves, many of them excellent. But the gulf in quality was simply too wide. Villa’s manager will take little comfort from a second-half improvement that came only after Chelsea had eased off.

The result leaves Chelsea on 76 points from 27 games, 24 clear of second-placed Rotherham United. Villa, meanwhile, remain sixteenth, a single point above the relegation zone. They have now lost eleven league games this season, and on this evidence, they will do well to stay up.

Chelsea’s next test comes on Sunday, when Luton Town visit the Drogba Arena in the league. But for now, the talk is of another title march. And on days like this, it is hard to see anyone stopping them.