Chelsea smash Aston Villa

Chelsea 8 Aston Villa 0 Chelsea will sit third in the Barclays Premier League at Christmas after smashing sorry Aston Villa for eight unanswered goals in a farcically one-sided encounter at Stamford Bridge. Fernando Torres' power header got the ball rolling for Rafael Benitez's men inside three minutes before a stunning free-kick by David Luiz and a Branislav Ivanovic header had the points in the bag by the break. Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan did his best to limit the damage with a string of fine saves in the second half, but he could not keep out Frank Lampard's stinging long-range effort and then suffered the ignominy of Ramires slotting a fifth between his legs. Oscar made it six from the spot in the 79th minute and there was still time for Eden Hazard to become the seventh different goalscorer when he lashed home, while Ramires made it eight at the death as Paul Lambert's men were brought back to earth with a bump following last week's impressive win at Liverpool. After Benitez's reign began in low-key fashion with goalless stalemates against Manchester City and Fulham, the European champions have since averaged more than three goals a game after netting 26 times in seven...