Goals from Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic secured Chelsea a 2-1 victory away at Aston Villa this afternoon.

Belgium international Hazard broke the deadlock in the eighth minute, only for that strike to be cancelled out by Villa defender Jores Okore shortly after the restart.

However, Ivanovic struck 24 minutes from time to secure all three points for the league leaders.

Here, Sports Mole rates the performances of each of the players that were on show at Villa Park.

VILLA

Goal

Brad Guzan: The American stopper could do little about either of Chelsea's goals, while he also made a couple of smart stops. There is certainly no reason for Guzan to be disappointed with his display. (6/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: Particularly during the first half, Hutton got forward well and forced a couple of corners. It was a solid outing from the Scot. (6/10)

Jores Okore: The youngster got his first Villa goal to cap what was a good all-round performance. He was a little unlucky that the ball struck him and then fell kindly for Ivanovic to score Chelsea's winning goal. (7/10)

Ciaran Clark: The Irishman was every bit as good as Okore alongside him, if not perhaps a little better. In either half, he made a number of crucial blocks and tackles. (7/10)

Aly Cissokho: The experienced left-back did little wrong up against a lively Willian. (6/10)

Midfield

Ashley Westwood: Back in the starting lineup, it seemed that there were long periods in which Westwood was not involved. To be fair, he is probably still trying to get some match fitness. (5/10)

Fabian Delph: It was an energetic display from Delph, who never stopped running. He battled hard against the likes of Matic and came out on top at times. (7/10)

Tom Cleverley: For someone that has played for England 13 times, you expect much more. It is not that Cleverley was particularly bad, he was just anonymous until he was substituted. (5/10)

Carles Gil: The January signing from Valencia was a real livewire. He showed great skill on more than one occasion and assisted Villa's first goal in 11 hours. (7/10)

Attack

Andreas Weimann: The pacey Austrian struggled to have much of an impact. He worked hard, but was outmuscled by Chelsea's big defensive unit. (6/10)

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Agbonlahor was never really given the chance to utilise the great speed that he possesses. Having said that, he did waste one good headed chance. (6/10)

Substitutes

Christian Benteke: Brought on to replace Agbonlahor, Benteke offered little. He could not get any space between the alert Terry and Cahill. (5/10)

Scott Sinclair: The Manchester City loanee tried to get the better of Ivanovic on a couple of occasions, but both times the Serb came out on top. (5/10)

Joe Cole: The former Chelsea playmaker came on with 10 minutes remaining, but he barely touched the ball during that time. (5/10)

CHELSEA

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: Normally so composed, there were occasions today when Courtois looked a little nervy coming to collect crosses. He dropped two and was lucky to be awarded a foul in another incident. (5/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: The match-winner - Ivanovic was at his solid best today. He defended well and always accepted the invitation to go forward, as highlighted by his goal. (7/10)

John Terry: When Villa started hoisting crosses into the box during the second half, there is no other defender Chelsea would have wanted underneath the ball. The skipper made a number of good clearances. (7/10)

Gary Cahill: Alongside Terry, Cahill made his fair share of clearances and interceptions. He also offered good cover to Ivanovic at right-back. (7/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Marking his fellow Spaniard Gil, Azpilicueta was actually made to look a fool on a couple of occasions. He did play a key role in Chelsea's winning goal, though. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: There is nothing flash about the Serbian midfielder, but there are not many that are better at doing what he does. Interceptions, tackles and accurate passing - he did it all. (8/10)

Ramires: With Matic in the holding role, Ramires could get forward at times. He did well, but was sometimes wasteful with the ball at his feet. (6/10)

Oscar: The Brazilian helped to create the first goal and also had a couple of openings himself. He was particularly lively during the first half. (6/10)

Willian: Not only does Willian offer a threat going forward, he does plenty of work heading in the opposite direction. He showed both of those attributes today. (7/10)

Eden Hazard: The Belgian got an early goal, which seemed to breathe confidence into his game. Perhaps a little quiet in the second half, but Hazard still made a decent contribution overall. (6/10)

Attack

Didier Drogba: It was an afternoon where Drogba looked his age. He struggled to make any sort of impact and too often counter-attacks broke down as a result of his wayward passing. (5/10)

Substitutes

Loic Remy: The Frenchman offered more mobility than Drogba, but he failed to offer too much more in an attacking sense. (6/10)

John Obi Mikel: Brought on to shore things up alongside Matic in midfield, Mikel did just that with a few important challenges. (6/10)

Juan Cuadrado: This was not the sort of situation where the new £25m man could show his creative side. Instead, he had to defend, which he did well. (6/10)