We made it back-to-back league wins following the international break by adding a fairly straightforward home victory to the one achieved at Leicester last weekend.

Villa never recovered from Jackson's early opening goal – slotted into the near post after a low cross from Marc Cucurella – and were their own worst enemy as the ball was repeatedly given away during the first half.

Yet that shouldn't take away from Chelsea's quality, which was clear in all three goals. The second arrived just before the break as Fernandez exchanged passes with Palmer and fired a brilliant shot into the bottom corner.

Arguably the best was saved for last as, at the end of a second period low which was on excitement, Palmer received a pass, sidestepped a defender and curled a brilliant shot into the top corner. It was no less than we deserved.

The selection

Enzo Maresca shuffled his pack following Thursday evening's exertions in Germany, with Jadon Sancho the only player retaining his place from our Conference League win over Heidenheim. He occupied the left flank, with Pedro Neto returning on the right and Palmer supporting Jackson once more.

The biggest change came in defence as Moises Caicedo slotted in at right-back. The centre-backs were Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill while Cucurella was on the left. That left Romeo Lavia and our captain for the day Fernandez in midfield, although they were often joined in possession by Caicedo.

Blues strike early

It was a fairly even start to the game, with both teams having spells of possession without posing much threat, but that situation didn’t last long.

Just seven minutes in, the first chance of the game also brought the first goal. It demonstrated the benefits of the counter-press and playing quickly in transition, as after our initial attack was half-cleared, Cucurella pounced to win the ball back just outside the Villa box.

Our left-back quickly exchanged passes with Sancho to burst into the box and send a low pass across goal. Jackson beat the defenders to it and Emiliano Martinez could only palm his first-time shot onto the inside of the post on its way to the back of the net.

We continued to enjoy the majority of the ball for a spell after taking the lead, but the visitors also upped their attacking intent, leaving us grateful to Sanchez for a good low save from close range after Ollie Watkins had squirmed away from Fofana on our right.

Villa rattled

The Blues were still pressing to make our possession advantage count and that gradually gave us our dominance. It also resulted in something of a novelty - an indirect free-kick 10 yards from goal - when Martinez rushed over to pick up the ball off Pau Torres’ foot, after saving a low curled effort by Palmer.

The keeper made amends with a strong hand to deny Palmer’s powerful strike from the close-range set-piece, before Lavia’s follow-up was blocked by the crowd of defenders sprinting off the line.

We kept going, our main threat coming from some dangerous Neto crosses, but then Villa began trying their best to provide an assist for us again. First Martinez passed out straight to Jackson in the box, although the striker couldn’t quite react quickly enough to bring it under control, then Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa contrived to pass their way off the field for a Chelsea corner after they had regained possession.

The Villans may have been let off on those occasions, but before the break we did extend our lead, with another excellent quick move after winning the ball back. This time it was Lavia and Caicedo sweeping up a loose ball just inside the opposition half to trigger the attack.

Caicedo fed it forward to Fernandez, who sought out Palmer and then continued his run forward into space. When Palmer returned the pass, our skipper for the day finished things off ruthlessly, controlling and arrowing a low half-volley into the bottom corner before the defenders could react.

That gave us a two-goal lead at half-time and it was one we had thoroughly deserved, playing most of the 45 minutes in the Villa half and being unfortunate not to have scored one or two more, while Sanchez had been tested just twice, both by Watkins, at the beginning and the end of the half.

Aston Villa changed their goalkeeper at half-time, Robin Olsen replacing Martinez, who seemed to have taken a knock in making his recovery save after hitting that pass at Jackson during the first half. Little changed in the pattern of play, though, as we continued on the front foot into the second half and Jackson posed a constant threat to Villa's goal, Fernandez and Palmer beginning to really enjoy themselves providing the ammunition.

Seeing it out in comfort

Villa's increasing frustration as the game slipped away from them was underlined when Jaden Philogene was booked for a dive trying to win a penalty. We were forced to make a change of our own, when Fofana limped off to be replaced by Benoit Badiashile, while the visitors threw on three more attacking subs as they continued to struggle to find a foothold.

If anything, it was Chelsea who looked more likely to score in a second half of few openings. The closest we had been to another goal as we entered the last 20 minutes was a couple of half-chances for Jackson, one flying over Olsen's crossbar, before the Swedish keeper came out to smother at our striker's feet for another, while a deflected Sancho effort bounced wide.

In reality, this was a match which was decided in the first 45 minutes, with neither keeper troubled much for the remainder of the game, despite a vital deflection off Colwill to divert a Ross Barkley header from a corner over the bar.

However, there was time for Palmer to add the icing on the cake of this comfortable Chelsea victory, and how sweet it was too. We have come to expect moments of brilliance from our No20 and this was one of them. A short free-kick came back to him from Noni Madueke on the edge of the box, and Palmer side-stepped the defender perfectly before curling into the top corner, leaving Olsen rooted to the spot and the Blues as 3-0 winners.

What it means

This win moves us level with Arsenal on 25 points in second place in the Premier League table, ahead of Manchester City's game against Liverpool later in the day. The Gunners nominally sit second, by virtue of having an away goal in our one head-to-head match so far this season, with our records otherwise identical at this stage.

What is next

We are back in Premier League action again on Wednesday, when we travel to Southampton for a 7.30pm kick-off, and then on the road again for a Sunday London derby at Tottenham Hotspur at 4.30pm on Sunday.

The teams

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Sanchez; Caicedo, Fofana (Badiashile 60), Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia (Gusto 86); Neto, Palmer (Joao Felix 86), Fernandez (c), Sancho (Madueke 71); Jackson (Nkunku 71)
Unused subs: Jorgensen, Tosin, Veiga, Mudryk
Scorers: Jackson 7, Fernandez 36, Palmer 83
Booked: Madueke 87, Joao Felix 89

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez (Olsen h-t); Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara (Barkley 62), Tielemans; Philogene (Bailey 66), McGinn (c), Rogers (Duran 66); Watkins (Buendia 84)
Unused subs: Bogarde, Maatsen, Carlos, Mings
Booked: Philogene 54, Cash 61, Torres 85

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Attendance: 39,689