By OkayGoal 
Alejandro Garnacho had arguably his best display in a Chelsea shirt since his £40m switch from Manchester United last summer in the 4-1 win against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
The Blues went behind after just two minutes through Douglas Luiz, but they responded well in the 35th minute after João Pedro turned in Malo Gusto’s pass.
Following a VAR check that ruled out Ollie Watkins’ effort for offside, Chelsea completed their comeback deep into first-half stoppage time when the Brazilian forward finished confidently after being picked out by Enzo Fernández before Cole Palmer added the Blues’ third with a driven strike in the 55th minute.
Nine minutes later, the Englishman produced a brilliant through pass that sliced open the Villa back line, allowing Garnacho to square the ball for João Pedro to complete his hat trick.
Garnacho later came close to extending the lead with a fifth as Chelsea returned to winning ways comfortably.
The Argentine was in the thick of things, creating six chances against Aston Villa, his most ever in a Premier League game. He also had more touches in the opposition. box (12), won more duels (7), made more tackles (4), and won more fouls (3) than any Chelsea player.
The eight-cap Argentina international also had a 100% successful pass rate, completing all his 27 passes in the game while also creating a sky-high six chances, with one leading to Pedro’s third.
Redemption
Garnacho was also relentless in winning the ball back, making three tackles, and could have at least had a goal to his name from his three shots to cap an impeccable display.
Speaking at a press conference after the match at Villa Park, Liam Rosenior suggested that the 21-year-old was reaping the rewards of his efforts in training.
‘When you’re professional, you do everything right on the training pitch. He’s really impressed me the last few weeks.
‘He’s impressed me the most while he’s been out of the team because his reaction to being out of the team is professionalism. The intensity that he’s trained at – it’s no coincidence that he’s going to perform like that today.’
Garnacho has now netted six goals and provided four assists this season, and will hope to nail down the left wing position going forward.
