Chelsea extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to six games, while Aston Villa’s winless streak stretched to eight matches.

Despite manager Enzo Maresca downplaying Chelsea’s title chances during his rebuilding season, the Blues are making a strong case for Champions League qualification. Their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa marked their third win in eight days, putting them level on points with second-placed Arsenal.

Villa, meanwhile, have struggled since their Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich in October, managing just one Premier League win since then. Now sitting in 12th place, their poor form continued at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea struck early when Nicolas Jackson volleyed Marc Cucurella’s cross into the net in the seventh minute, securing his eighth goal of the season. Villa protested a foul by Cucurella on Jaden Philogene during the buildup, but the goal stood.

The frustration mounted for Villa when Enzo Fernandez doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 36th minute with a composed finish from 12 yards. Cole Palmer sealed the win in the 83rd minute with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box, also his eighth goal of the season.

Elsewhere, Tottenham’s hopes of a top-four finish took a hit after a 1-1 draw with 10-man Fulham. Brennan Johnson gave Spurs the lead in the 54th minute with an assist from Timo Werner. However, Tom Cairney equalized in the 67th minute with a curling shot into the far corner.

Cairney was later sent off with seven minutes remaining when a VAR review upgraded his yellow card to a red following a foul on Dejan Kulusevski. Despite the numerical advantage, Tottenham failed to capitalize, leaving them in seventh place.