Joao Pedro's hat-trick breathed fresh life into Chelsea's Champions League charge with a statement win at rivals Aston Villa.

The striker took his tally to 17 for the season, with Cole Palmer also netting, as the visitors came from behind at Villa Park.

Douglas Luiz's first goal in more than two years gave Villa the lead, but following the turnaround, they are now just three points above Chelsea in the Premier League - missing the chance to move nine points clear.

The Blues moved up to fifth, a place behind Villa, in the race for the Champions League just a day after head coach Liam Rosenior warned they were running out of time to cut the gap.

It was Villa's heaviest home defeat in two years and, having gone 12 months unbeaten in the Premier League at Villa Park until August, they have now lost three of their past five top-flight home games.

It was the perfect start for the hosts, though, when Leon Bailey produced a low cross for Douglas Luiz to flick in from close range after two minutes.

As Chelsea responded, Emi Martinez saved from Joao Pedro and Palmer while Reece James had a penalty claim rejected after going down under Ian Maatsen's challenge.

Those chances emboldened the visitors and Joao Pedro deservedly levelled when he tapped in Malo Gusto's pass.

The visitors were on top but almost gifted Villa the lead when James' loose pass allowed Villa to break and Ollie Watkins beat Filip Jorgensen - only for the video assistant referee to narrowly rule him offside.

More VAR frustration was to come for Villa in first-half injury time when Enzo Fernandez's cute pass found Joao Pedro to lift the ball over Martinez, with the striker judged to be just onside.

Palmer then struck 10 minutes after the break and Joao Pedro completed his treble from Alejandro Garnacho's pass.

Aston Villa are unravelling. There is no question or doubt they are succumbing to the pressure, and struggling with expectation and a lack of depth, while they battle for the top five.

Victory would have put them nine points clear of Chelsea - but instead the Blues are hunting them down.

Ollie Watkins had a chance at 3-1 down to give Villa hope, rounding goalkeeper Jorgensen without getting a shot away, which summed up his form and Villa's slump.

It is one win in seven in all competitions for Unai Emery's side, who were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Newcastle during that run.

Only time will tell if back-to-back defeats by Wolves and Chelsea are as damaging as they seem. The next Premier League game, a trip to Manchester United on 15 March, may make the picture clearer.

While they remain in the top four, Villa's fragilities are showing. If their fate goes right to the end of the season, they have two testing matches to finish - against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Villa Park was a fortress during that 12-month unbeaten home league run, but no longer.

Emery's side have lost four of their past seven home outings and during that sequence they needed late goals to take a point against Leeds and beat Brighton.

Fans had already started heading for the exits once Chelsea went 4-1 up. By the end, the stadium was barely a quarter full.

Hat-trick hero Joao Pedro made it nine goals in nine games to give Chelsea a significant boost in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

His clever movement at the back post allowed him to get free of Villa defender Ezri Konsa to equalise, while his dinked finish just before half-time underlined his quality.

His third was another tap-in after Garnacho exploited Villa's high line and his 71st minute overhead-kick - which went just wide - highlighted his joga bonito - 'play beautiful' - spirit.

The forward's all-round ability means he can score different types of goals - close range or long range, with his feet and with his head, clinical and spectacular.

Only Manchester City pair Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, along with Brentford's Igor Thiago, have scored more than his 14 Premier League goals this season.

And Joao Pedro, who has also contributed seven assists, has reached that total without any penalties to boost the tally.

Not since Diego Costa's efforts in the 2016-17 title‑winning campaign have Chelsea had a striker capable of scoring 20 goals in a single season, with Tammy Abraham, a Villa substitute on Wednesday, coming closest during his time at Stamford Bridge.

It is not just his output that has impressed staff at Chelsea. Joao Pedro has also acted as a mentor for young Brazilians Estevao Willian and Andrey Santos, and he is known for volunteering for difficult tasks such as speaking to the media after disappointing defeats.

Chelsea believe they selected the right striker and have had value for money from their £55m deal with Brighton, in a summer that Alexander Isak joined Liverpool, Benjamin Sesko moved to Manchester United and Viktor Gyokeres signed for Arsenal.

Aston Villa go to Lille in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday (17:45 GMT) and then face another crucial game in the battle for the Premier League's top five at Manchester United on 15 March (14:00).

Chelsea travel to Wrexham in the FA Cup on Saturday (17:45) before facing defending champions Paris St-Germain in France in the Champions League for their last-16 first leg tie the following Wednesday (20:00).