Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 1

Hiddink Makes Winning Start (Sky Sports)

Chelsea produced an impressive performance in their first match under Guus Hiddink to beat Aston Villa 1-0 and climb to third in the Premier League table.

'Deteriorating' displays prompted Chelsea to sack Luiz Felipe Scolari after the goalless draw with Hull City earlier this month but there was a marked improvement from the start as Aston Villa were pushed onto the back foot.

Nicolas Anelka, starting alongside Didier Drogba, grabbed the decisive goal with a delightful finish on 19 minutes following a sublime piece of skill by Frank Lampard.

Ashley Young almost equalised when his free-kick hit the crossbar and Villa then began to apply more pressure after half-time, with Petr Cech forced into a couple of fine saves.

However, Chelsea held firm to add to Villa's frustrations at the end of a week which has seen them crash out of the FA Cup and draw with CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their Uefa Cup tie.

Early scare

Drogba had the first effort on target - a powerful low drive from a narrow angle which was dealt with by Brad Friedel - and Lampard's dipping long range effort was only just too high.

Cech gave the Blues a scare when he failed to cling onto a low cross from James Milner - and when the loose ball broke to Emile Heskey the striker was unable to keep down his left footed attempt.

It was a rare moment of danger from the home side and after 19 minutes Anelka put Chelsea ahead with his sixth goal in six meetings with Villa.

Lampard was the creator with a superb piece of footwork which enabled him to race clear of Curtis Davies and Stiliyan Petrov before sliding a pass through to Anelka.

The former Arsenal striker showed great composure in dinking the ball over Friedel into the corner of the net for his 21st goal of the campaign.

Class

Chelsea looked a class above their opponents as they moved the ball around in masterful style to leave Villa often chasing shadows.

Friedel needed to pull off a superb one-handed save to keep out John Terry's thumping header from a Lampard corner.

Villa struggled to get into the game as an attacking force but in the 33rd minute Ashley Young came close to equalising when his curling free-kick hit the crossbar. Heskey was the first to react to the rebound but he headed well wide.

Martin O'Neill would have demanded a response for his side after the break but it was Terry who came close to doubling Chelsea's lead after 49 minutes.

The England captain met a Lampard corner with a firm header - but Petrov was able to clear off the line with Friedel beaten.

Carlos Cuellar became the first player to be yellow carded after 52 minutes for a foul on Anelka.

Momentum

Cech was forced to make his first meaningful save after 54 minutes when he beat out a fierce drive by Gabriel Agbonlahor after a slip by Alex.

Villa started to build some momentum and Cech turned aside a powerful effort from Gareth Barry.

But Chelsea finished strongest and they had the best two chances of the closing stages.

Drogba could have wrapped up the points after a mistake by Cuellar - but he lofted his shot into the Holte End, before Friedel denied Jose Bosingwa at close range.

Aston Villa	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
4	Shots on Target	7
7	Shots off Target	6
3	Blocked Shots	6
6	Corners	12
10	Fouls	12
1	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
67	Passing Success	79.1
26	Tackles	11
73.1	Tackles Success	81.8
39.5	Possession	60.5
56.5	Territorial Advantage	43.5

Teams

Aston Villa Friedel, Cuellar, Knight, Davies (Carew 70), L. Young, Milner, Petrov, Barry, A. Young, Agbonlahor, Heskey
Subs Not Used Guzan, Shorey, Salifou, Gardner, Sidwell, Delfounesco
Booked Cuellar
Goals

Chelsea Cech, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Alex, Terry, Ballack, Mikel, Lampard, Kalou (Deco 55), Drogba (Belletti 90), Anelka
Subs Not Used Hilario, Ivanovic, Mancienne, Stoch, Quaresma
Booked Bosingwa, Terry, Ballack
Goals Anelka 19

Attendance 42,585

Referee M. Halsey