"Not Joao Pedro." Liam Rosenior names the player who impressed the most vs Aston Villa.

 • Liam Rosenior has hailed one special Chelsea star for his strong showing against Aston Villa.

While Joao Pedro made the headlines with a historic hat-trick against Villa, Liam Rosenior was quick to point out one special Chelsea  star as the unsung hero in the 4-1 win. 

Following the Blues defeat to the Gunners on Sunday, Chelsea put up.a complete performance, dominating the entire game after the first two minutes.  

Chelsea will rightly credit João Pedro for his stunning hat-trick — taking his season tally to 17 goals and nine assists in all competitions — but this was a complete team performance.

However, it was Alejandro Garnacho who truly laid the foundation for the victory. Time and again, he drove Chelsea forward, carrying the ball with purpose and repeatedly taking on Matty Cash. He was the creative spark, the one pulling the strings in key moments.

Liam Rosenior was full of praise for the Chelsea star:

“He was outstanding. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him. I said to him, ‘I knew he would play well tonight’, just because of how he’s training.

“When you’re professional, you do everything right on the training pitch and take it onto the pitch. The intensity he has trained at, it’s no coincidence he’s played like that today.

“I love how unselfish he was to set up the goal for Joao.”

Whatever Liam Rosenior told Garnacho in training seems to have paid off, as he looked a constant threat in the final third and even created more than Cole Palmer at times.

But there were two stats in particular that will really surprise Chelsea supporters.

Alejandro Garnacho tops duels and passing stats for Chelsea against Aston Villa: 

One of the biggest criticisms of Alejandro Garnacho since joining Chelsea has been his lack of defensive work and giving the ball away on too many occasions.

That wasn’t the case against Aston Villa, as he completed 24 out of 24 passes, giving him an 100% passing accuracy, which no other player on the pitch achieved.

As well as this, he won seven out of 10 ground duels, which was also more than any other player.

And he showed his unselfishness to square the ball for Joao Pedro to grab his hat-trick in the second half, when on another day he would’ve gone alone himself.

All stats via (FotMob) via The Chelsea Chronicle. 

To secure his future as a Chelsea mainstay, Alejandro Garnacho must prioritise consistent behaviours over occasional flashes of individual brilliance. While his statistical masterclass at Villa Park proved he can show defensive discipline, he still has a lot to prove.

With the club’s disciplinary record under intense scrutiny and new attacking reinforcements always a possibility in the BlueCo model, the 21-year-old must master self-control. This means refining his decision-making in the final third and prioritising the team over difficult solo efforts.