Chelsea put in a poor performance as their domestic campaign almost unraveled at Villa Park. Goals from former man Bertrand Traore and Anwar El-Ghazi looked set to deny Chelsea that top four spot, but thanks to a massive favour from arch-rivals Tottenham, they will be playing in next season’s Champion’s League regardless of what happens on Saturday.
Team News
Aston Villa were completely unchanged from the impressive 2-1 win at Tottenham.
Chelsea made just one change from their impressive 2-1 win against Leicester. Mateo Kovacic came in for the injured N’Golo Kante in midfield.
Chelsea start brightly but Villa claw back
Chelsea took control of the possession early on in front of 10,000 returning Aston Villa fans. However, they struggled to create any clear-cut chances. Best chances fell to Timo Werner with a header and Mason Mount with a left-footed volley. Villa gradually grew into the game after successfully nullifying Chelsea’s meek threat at the other end. It paid dividends as a well-worked corner caught the Blues off-guard and former Blue Traore put the hosts ahead at the break. At this point, Chelsea were only in the top four thanks to Spurs drawing against Leicester.
But that soon changed as the Foxes went ahead again and Jorginho conceded a penalty after the resumption. El-Ghazi stepped up and delivered, leaving Tuchel hoping for a miracle. Chelsea mounted some sort of a comeback, but didn’t really threaten Emi Martinez in goal. Werner had a customary goal ruled out for offside. Chelsea did manage to pull one back, thanks to Chilwell’s effort which Martinez almost kept out. However, Spurs had levelled matters once more, and as Chelsea hunted an equalizer, in came Gareth Bale who scored two to dump the Foxes out of contention. Azpilicueta was sent off for a slap on Jack Grealish after the Villa skipper had fouled him.
Ultimately it was all smiles for the Blues, but it could have been so different had it not been for Gareth Bale. Chelsea did their best to throw it all away, but Spurs, of all teams didn’t let them.
What does this mean for the table?
Aston Villa were set for an 11th-placed finish, despite the outcome. They ended a hugely impressive season with back-to-back wins over two ‘Big Six’ clubs.
Chelsea dropped to fourth with the loss, but most importantly qualified for next season’s Champion’s League. Tuchel has one week to rectify this poor performance before the final of this season’s Champion’s League.
Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea: Opta Stats
- Chelsea suffered their first Premier League away defeat under manager Thomas Tuchel, in what was his ninth such game in charge (W6 D2).
- Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traoré became the 25th different player to score a Premier League goal against Chelsea having previously played for the Blues in the competition. No team has had more former players score against them in the Premier League (Spurs also 25).
- Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell registered his eighth goal involvement in the Premier League this season (3 goals, 5 assists) – among defenders, only Trent Alexander-Arnold has been involved in more (9).
- Jorginho finished the season as Chelsea’s highest scorer in the Premier League with seven goals – all from the penalty spot. It’s the Blues’ lowest-scoring top-scorer in a top-flight campaign since 1974-75 (Ian Hutchinson, 7).
Up Next
Aston Villa can sit back and relax after a successful campaign.
Chelsea have the Champion’s League final remaining, against Man City on Saturday in Portugal.
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