MY ACCOUNT
Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League goal since September and Jorginho struck from the penalty spot twice as Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-1.
Thomas Tuchel’s side had fallen behind to a Reece James own goal in the 28th minute, but they restored parity shortly after thanks to a Jorginho spot-kick.
Half-time substitute Lukaku then headed home for the first time in the top flight since he scored a brace against Villa at Stamford Bridge on September 11, before Jorginho added a third with another penalty in stoppage time.
The victory meant Chelsea moved level on points with second-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand, while Villa slipped to 10th after earlier moving up to ninth following Leicester City’s heavy defeat to Manchester City.
The closest either side went in an even opening 25 minutes was Mason Mount’s looping cross from the right that clipped the top of Emiliano Martinez’s crossbar.
Villa went ahead shortly before the half-hour mark when Matt Targett’s left-wing cross was inadvertently diverted over Edouard Mendy by the head of James.
It did not take long for Chelsea to pull level, though, Jorginho rolling in from the spot in the 34th minute after Matty Cash had clumsily brought down Callum Hudson-Odoi inside the area.
Lukaku wasted little time in making an impact after being introduced at the break, the Belgium international stealing in ahead of Tyrone Mings to head home Hudson-Odoi’s left-wing cross in the 56th minute.
Mount inexplicably rolled wide after rounding Martinez and the Villa goalkeeper thwarted Hudson-Odoi late on, but Jorginho sealed all three points by stroking home from 12 yards after Ezri Konsa had brought down a marauding Lukaku.
What does it mean? Villa downed by familiar foe
Villa, whose manager Steven Gerrard watched on from home after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week, started brightly but were soon pegged back by Jorginho.
They must have known their fate was sealed when Lukaku was introduced at half-time. The former Inter striker has now scored nine goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Villa; he has not scored more against any other opponent in the big-five European leagues in his career.
Victory for the European champions leaves them six points adrift of leaders City.
Jorginho the penalty king
Since Tuchel’s first game in charge of Chelsea in January, the Blues have scored more penalties in the Premier League than any other side (12). Jorginho has scored 10 of those – the most by a player in a single calendar year in the competition’s history.
Ings’ poor run continues
Danny Ings has not scored in the league since October 16 and there was more frustration here for the former Southampton striker. He failed to hit the target with any of his three shots and was replaced in the 73rd minute by Bertrand Traore.
Key Opta Facts
– Chelsea have lost fewer Premier League games than any other side (5) since Tuchel was appointed, while only Man City (92) have picked up more points than the Blues in that period (79).
– Only Newcastle United (15) have lost more Premier League games on Boxing Day than Villa (13).
– As much as 89 per cent of Jorginho’s Premier League goals for Chelsea been scored from the penalty spot (17/19) – the highest such ratio of anyone with 10 or more goals in the history of the competition.
– Villa have lost seven Premier League games after scoring first in 2021, the joint-most of any side in a single year (also Everton in 1999 and Wigan in 2006).
What’s next?
Chelsea host Brighton and Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, while Villa are next in action at Brentford next Sunday after their midweek visit to Leeds United was postponed due to a high number of COVID-19 cases at the Yorkshire club.
