'Special' hat-trick the perfect response to Arsenal defeat, says Joao Pedro

Joao Pedro described his hat-trick in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Aston Villa as "special", with the Brazilian saying his team provided the perfect response to their defeat at Arsenal. 

Chelsea leapfrogged Liverpool and are up to fifth in the Premier League with their dominant display at Villa Park on Wednesday, with Cole Palmer also on target for the Blues. 

Liam Rosenior's side had fallen behind in the second minute thanks to Douglas Luiz's strike, but Joao Pedro's double at the end of the first half flipped the game on its head. 

The Chelsea number 20 then inadvertently teed up Palmer to restore Chelsea's two-goal cushion before sealing his treble with a simple tap-in just after the hour mark. 

Indeed, Joao Pedro was the first player to be directly involved in four goals in a single Premier League game this season.

He was also the eighth Brazilian to score a hat-trick in the competition, and the seventh visiting player to score three goals in a game at Villa Park in the Premier League.

"I think it is a special night for me. I was waiting for this time. My hat-trick came at the right moment," Joao Pedro told TNT Sports.

"After we lost against Arsenal, I think we showed them the comeback and how much we want to achieve.

"I work a lot to be ready for this moment and I have great players around me, so I try to always be in the right place, and today I could score three goals.

"Everyone wants to win every game. Today we showed how much we were frustrated from the last game and got an important three points away.

"In the whole season, we tried to be consistent but have dropped too many points at home, but now we need to look forward and do our best every game."

Chelsea have now won 14 of their 31 away league games at Aston Villa (D8 L9), only winning more visits to Tottenham (17) and Southampton (15) in the competition.

But, more importantly, their victory over the Villans ended a three-game winless stretch in the Premier League, having also drawn with Leeds United and Burnley. 

The Blues were unlucky to come away with nothing at Emirates Stadium last Sunday, with their cause not helped by Pedro Neto's sending off in the second half. 

And Rosenior echoed Joao Pedro's comments about the response from his team, but urged his squad to stay consistent for the last nine league games of the season. 

"We knew coming into the game in terms of the season and what we wanted to achieve that it was a big game. The team stepped up," Rosenior added. 

"I thought it was an outstanding team performance.

"Joao will get the plaudits and rightly so, but some of our possession play, our incision, pressing, our energy, our commitment to defend was top, but it needs to continue.

"We started the game really, really, well and then they score. It is a fantastic finish. I have to say I don't understand how a penalty is not given on Reece.

"We have a few setbacks, but we've spoken a lot as a group in a positive way and we definitely showed that tonight."