Pedro’s hattrick sinks Villa as Chelsea climb into top five

2026-03-04 - 22:14

Chelsea’s Joao Pedro (right) lifts the ball over Aston Villa’s Emil Martinez to score the second goal at Villa Park.(AFP pic) BIRMINGHAM: Joao Pedro scored his first Premier League hattrick as Chelsea came from behind to thump hosts Aston Villa 4-1 on Wednesday and move above Liverpool in the table as the race for Champions League places next season heats up. Fifth-placed Chelsea have 48 points from 29 games, while Villa in fourth have 51 points from the same number of matches as they continue to stutter in the league with two wins in their last nine top-flight fixtures. Douglas Luiz gave Villa an early lead, but that was as good as it got for the home side, as Chelsea, who began to dominate the contest, were clinical in front of goal. Pedro’s treble takes his tally of goals to 14 in the Premier League this season, while Cole Palmer was also on the scoresheet in the best performance of Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior’s tenure to date.