A difficult afternoon for Graham Potter's Chelsea side at Villa Park was masked by a comfortable looking 2-0 scoreline but it wasn't a straightforward victory. Here's what we learnt.....
Tale of two English managers
With Graham Potter's stock on the rise, the contrasting fortunes of Steven Gerrard in the opposition dugout were stark. Booed by the supporters at the final whistle, many at Villa Park are calling for an end to his management of the club, having failed to get going this season.
Aston Villa played well and this will provide some encouragement going forward, but with John McGinn speaking out in support of the manager after the game, suggesting the pressure should be on the players instead, it appears that Gerrard is in a race against time to pick up some points.
With Villa's next matches against Fulham and Brentford, supporters will be expecting to see their team return to winning ways, with the pressure on. In contrast, Potter is going from strength to strength and looks to be settling in at Chelsea, remaining unbeaten in his new role and his side rising to fourth in the Premier League.
Match-winner Mason
England international Mason Mount bagged his first two goals of the season with a classy free kick from outside the area and the game's opening goal, which was a more opportunisitc finish following an error from Tyrone Mings, to take the match beyond Aston Villa's reach.
Successive Chelsea managers have made Mount a regular in their first elevens and he looks set to be a certain member of Gareth Southgate's squad for the Fifa World Cup 2022 next month in Qatar. He is the only outfield player to have started every match so far for Chelsea under Potter, who claimed in his post-match comments that "Mason was the difference', but goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga also had a huge influence on the game.
Creator: Marc Atkins | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2022 Marc Atkins
Clean sheets, Clean starts
Though it was Edouard Mendy's injury that gave Kepa an initial way back into a Chelsea team that looked a lot like they had little use for a player they signed for £72million, Kepa's recent performances have kept him between the sticks as Potter's number one.
With four clean sheets in his last four games, which have come in the space of just nine days, Kepa looks full of confidence and has the respect of his defensive line.
In the first half he made a triple save to keep the game at 1-0 as Villa put relentless pressure on his goal, his acrobatic save from a Danny Ings header ensured the teams headed into the half-time break with Chelsea in the lead and ultimately that they came away with the three points. After the game, the goalkeeper said he has been "enjoying the fight" to get back between the sticks.
Hauled off at half-time
Not afraid to shy away from making tough decisions and switching personnel, Potter made two changes to his starting eleven at half-time. With his side relying heavily on Keep's first half saves, Potter brought on Cesar Azpilicueta to replace Marc Cucurella who struggled and Kalidou Koulibaly who was substituted on for the largely ineffectual Kai Havertz, who has had a quiet season so far.
Potter is clearly considering his options as he seeks a replacement for Reece James down the right-side and utilised Raheem Sterling in the role on occasions. James will not feature ahead of the break in the season for the World Cup and faces a race against time to make the England squad.
Chilwell's Class
Though the struggles of Ben Chilwell's competitor for the left-back role Marc Cucurella was removed after 45 minutes, having struggled in a back three, Chilwell showed why he has pushed the Spaniard out of his favoured position.
His final ball and ability to run from box to box down the left-wing shows the talents of a man who suffered a serious knee injury last season and is beginning to get back to his best.
Chilwell struggled to get into the side at the beginning of the season under Thomas Tuchel and scored in his last game in charge against West Ham United. Since then, he has barely been out of this ever-improving Chelsea side.