Chelsea are back to their title-winning best, says Aston Villa keeper

Chelsea are finally back to the unstoppable form which brought them the Premier League title with 95 points in Jose Mourinho's first glorious campaign.

That's the verdict of Aston Villa keeper Brad Friedel, who performed heroics to restrict Luiz Felipe Scolari's Premier League leaders to a 2-0 win on Sunday.

Friedel said: "We played against a top team. Chelsea were very good, especially in the first 35 minutes or so.

"They are playing like they did in the first season that Mourinho took over three seasons ago.

"They really stamped their authority on the game with very good players."

Chelsea cruised past Villa with first-half goals from Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka as the visitors' hopes of a topfour finish were dented.

But Friedel insists O'Neill's exciting young side are still capable of competing with the best.

He added: "We weren't as good as we have been in previous weeks and that's something we will have to address.

"We're much better than we showed at Stamford Bridge and the management team will ensure we won't be putting in another performance like that.

"When you are playing against any of the top teams you have to be playing well from the first minute."

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