But a bigger sign of his lack of confidence right now came when he was played through one-on-one against Emiliano Martinez. Palmer hesitated, slipped and failed to get a decent shot off, something unthinkable in the first 18 months of his Chelsea career.

It was far from a poor performance from Chelsea against Aston Villa, but it definitely left much to be desired. They had ample chances to ensure they had a bigger cushion before the hosts found a way back through Marco Asensio's first goal and should really have got themselves back in front.