Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea: Mount double and Kepa masterclass increases the pressure on Gerrard

Mason Mount’s double and a Kepa Arrizabalaga masterclass saw Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-0 to extend their unbeaten run under Graham Potter.

Mount scored in each half of Sunday’s Premier League encounter at Villa Park, yet Chelsea were fortunate to hold their advantage in-between thanks to a dynamite performance from their goalkeeper.

Kepa made a string of wonderful save before half-time, with his stop from a close-range Danny Ings header the highlight.

Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, will lament errors from Tyrone Mings and Kepa’s opposite number Emiliano Martinez, though the pressure is growing on Villa’s boss.

Mings made a mess of a clearance to gift Mount the chance to open the scoring six minutes in, with the playmaker calmly slotting past Martinez, but Chelsea had their backs to the wall for much of the first half.

Leon Bailey hit the crossbar with a header and Kepa came to Chelsea’s salvation with a superb double save, keeping out John McGinn’s strike before tipping Jacob Ramsey’s follow-up onto the post.

Ings hit another rebound against the upright from an offside position in that flurry, and he was thwarted by Kepa 10 minutes later – the Spaniard acrobatically tipping the striker’s header over.

Raheem Sterling hit the bar at the other end before the break, but any hope Villa had was extinguished when Mount’s dipping long-range free-kick, conceded by Mings, dropped in over Martinez, who should have done far better.

A miserable day for Mings concluded with a calf injury, though he battled through to full time, which was greeted by jeers from the Villa fans that had not already made their exit.