Chelsea striker João Pedro said he had a "dream night" after his hat trick saw his side gain the initiative in the race for Champions League qualification.
Pedro's first Premier League hat trick fired Liam Rosenior's men to a handsome 4-1 win at Aston Villa on Wednesday, moving them to fifth in the table, three points behind Villa, whose form is faltering.
The Brazil striker has become a key man under new boss Rosensior, scoring eight of his 14 league goals across the last eight games.
João Pedro told Chelsea TV: "I think it was another dream night for me. Since I joined here I have been waiting for this moment, playing for a big team to get my hat trick.
"I think it was a perfect night to get my first hat trick with Chelsea. I just need to look forward and get more. I think everyone was perfect, when the team plays like this I will get chances.
"Everyone was top and we need to continue like this. It was a special day for everyone. We still have nine games to fight and to be in the top four."
Villa's form has hit the buffers in recent weeks, winning just one of their last six league games.
They are now not in action until next Thursday when they play Lille in the Europa League and boss Unai Emery is welcoming the break.
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"We have to work and to recover and to remind ourselves about things tactically," Emery said.
"We will analyse the match, sure, because I am not now clear about how we conceded the goals, but we can't concede football like we did today.
"And with the days we are going to have until the next match, which is next Thursday in Lille, we are going to work at it. Of course, we can have some days to add work that maybe we didn't do before."
