Chelsea returned to wining ways by beating Aston Villa 2-0 in their Premier League clash.

Diego Costa opened the scoring with a close-range finish from Willian's pass, after Brad Guzan had given the ball away.

The Brazilian was involved again after the break, as his strike deflected off Alan Hutton and looped into the net to seal the three points for the Blues.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at Stamford Bridge.

Match statistics

CHELSEA
Shots: 9
On target: 3
Possession: 49%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 22

ASTON VILLA
Shots: 8
On target: 1
Possession: 51%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 17

Was the result fair?

There was very little to choose between the two teams, but the Blues showed slightly more threat in the final third than their opponents. It was a very even first half until Costa opened the scoring, and Villa had even looked more dangerous going forward. However, after taking the lead Chelsea took control and the second goal seemed to extinguish any hopes the visitors had of getting back into the game.

Chelsea's performance

Although the Blues were far from their best, Jose Mourinho will be delighted that his team managed to claim the points this afternoon. He made a number of changes to the starting lineup, with Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic among those dropped to the bench. The Blues seemed to lack fluency in their attacking play for the majority of the match, but they were helped when Willian intercepted a poor pass from Brad Guzan, before squaring for Costa to tap the ball in from close range.

Chelsea were dealt another slice of fortune early in the second half, when Costa's strike took a huge deflection off Hutton and ended up in the back of the net. They did not have too many problems seeing out the rest of the match, and started to display more confidence in the latter stages. The performance is unlikely to win over all of the club's detractors, but it could prove to be a huge moment in their season.

Aston Villa's performance

Despite their lowly position in the table, Villa made a good start to the match and they caused plenty of problems down the flanks, with Jack Grealish in particularly impressive form. Hutton had seen an early shot saved by Asmir Begovic, and prior to going behind, Rudy Gestede had turned an effort over from close range.

The Villans did not seem to be in too much danger of conceding, but a horrible error at the back from Guzan saw them clinically punished by the Blues. Tim Sherwood's side then struggled to come up with a response and the second goal proved to be the killer blow. There are positives that the manager will take from the performance, but it was a sixth defeat from eight league games, and it leaves them still rooted in the relegation zone.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Diego Costa: The Brazilian was at the heart of Chelsea's best moves this afternoon and played a crucial role in each goal. He scored the opener with a simple finish after Willian had stolen the ball, while his deflected effort led to the decisive second. Costa also battled well for his side throughout the match, and was never afraid to get involved in a scrap.

Biggest gaffe

Guzan must take the blame for a calamitous mistake that ended up costing his side dearly. He tried to play the ball short to Joleon Lescott, but got his pass all wrong and it was intercepted by Willian, who burst into the box and laid it off for Costa to slot in from close range.

Referee performance

It was a relatively simple afternoon's work for Roger East. The match official gave out four deserved yellow cards and did not get any of the big decisions wrong, and correctly decided against giving the Blues a penalty in the first half when Costa went down too easily.

What next?

Chelsea: The Blues are up against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, before facing London rivals West Ham United in the Premier League next Saturday.

Aston Villa: Sherwood's side will look to end their winless run in the top flight against Swansea City next weekend.