Chelsea rout Villa in League Cup
Essien made a rare appearance on the score sheet
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Wednesday, 08, Nov 2006 10:01
Chelsea returned to scintillating form after their weekend disappointment as they blitzed Aston Villa 4-0 in the League Cup proving too good for their opponents particularly during the second half.
Frank Lampard, captain in place of the suspended John Terry, opened the scoring in the 32nd minute. Michael Ballack won the ball in midfield and crossed from the left for Lampard to head into the Villa net from close range.
Celebrations were marred when an object appeared to be thrown from the crowd behind the goal which contained the travelling supporters and may have struck Lampard.
The Blues were always on top but it was not until the hour mark until they were able to convert their pressure into goals.
This time it was Lampard who turned provider as his cross from the left was met by Andriy Shevchenko. Having fielded a strong line-up Jose Mourinho then made a spate of substitutions following the two-goal cushion.
As the game entered the final ten minutes and the Villa side began to tire Chelsea seemingly went into overdrive scoring twice in two minutes.
Geremi making a rare start at right-back fed Michael Essien who placed the ball into the roof of the goal. Didier Drogba then scored his 11th goal of the season blasting it past a helpless Thomas Sorensen.
Another worrying incident occurred in the second half when a bottle appeared to be thrown onto the field of play from the crowd which, along with the first half occurrence will undoubtedly be investigated further.