Chelsea’s Premier League campaign came to a dramatic end on Sunday as they qualified for the Champions League despite losing to Aston Villa.
The Blues were beaten by a determined Aston Villa side but were spared by Tottenham’s win over Leicester City in the other Premier League game.
A brilliant goal from former Chelsea player Bertrand Traore and a second-half penalty by El Ghazi sent Aston Villa on their way to a famous last-day win before Ben Chilwell pulled one back for the visitors. Chelsea, who had their captain sent off in the dying moments of the game for hitting out on Jack Grealish, pressed their hosts for an equaliser but couldn’t find a way past an inspired Martinez in the Aston Villa goal.
The result, however, was enough to book Chelsea a fourth-place finish behind Liverpool, who won their match against Crystal Palace.
Here we look at four talking points from the game.
Chelsea falter when it matters the most
The Blues may have qualified for the Champions League, but they will know that this was based purely on luck and not because of their brilliance.
For a team that are vying for a place among Europe’s elite, the game against an Aston Villa side outside of the league top ten was seen as a winnable match. But the London side made the big work out of it with an insipid display in the afternoon.
Although they bossed the game and had a greater share of the ball, they could not really trouble their visitors, especially in the first half.
Most of their attacking play was all bark and no bite, and they were also guilty of missing simple passes and overdoing things. Perhaps the pressure of qualification got to them. With a Champions League final coming up in less than a week, this was their opportunity to show what could be expected in Lisbon, and they failed to send out a positive impression.
Bad day for Jorginho
After starring in his side’s win over Leicester City last week, Sunday’s game presented an entirely different colour for Jorginho. The Chelsea midfielder had a game to forget in the afternoon as he offered little in midfield before giving away his side’s penalty.
The Italian was shown a yellow card in the first half of the game and was replaced by Ziyech in the 60th minute with his side two-down and looking to get back in the game.
To highlight how terrible his afternoon was, his replacement in midfield by Reece James coincided with an upturn in form for Chelsea, who went on to dominate Villa in the closing stages of the game.
Chelsea need a number-9
Chelsea desperately needs a striker to complete the puzzle, which is this team. The Blues may have signed Timo Werner for a huge sum, but the German has shown that he is far from being Chelsea’s number 9.
The striker’s first season in England has been poor by all standards, and on Sunday, he showed why he is not ready to lead the line for Tuchle’s side. To be fair to him, he put in a good shift in the game and was running and industry.
But none of his efforts yielded any results, and he couldn’t affect the game despite dropping deep and playing all the positions in the attack. He was also unlucky not to score as his goal was ruled out for a marginal offside, making him the player with the most offside calls this season.
The Bleus will have to sign a striker to get the best out of the running German.
Kante is crucial for Chelsea
Without N’Golo Kante, Chelsea struggle.
The Frenchman missed the game due to a muscle injury sustained in his side’s win at Leicester City, and his absence proved just why he might be Chelsea’s most decisive player.
Without him in midfield, the Blues pressing was easily bypassed, and Aston Villa were able to carve out some good chances from midfield.
Jorginho and Kovacic are two good footballers, but they have proven that they cannot replace Kante. The former Leicester City player is easily Chelsea’s best player and will be crucial in his side’s chase for their second ever Champions League.
Tuchel will now be hoping that the World Cup winner is fit and ready for Saturday when his side takes on Manchester City.
All eyes on Portugal
Chelsea now have the opportunity to cap up a memorable season with the Champions League final against Man City on Saturday in Porto.
Thomas Tuchel has done a lot of work in a short period at Stamford Bridge. But an FA Cup loss to Leicester City means the Blues are still without a trophy this season.
However, they have the opportunity to correct that when they face Pep Guardiola’s City side, whom they have won two times this year.
Win that game, and Tuchel’s first season will be considered as successful. While a loss might not affect his Chelsea career in the short term, but it will surely have a bad print on his reputation.
