Chelsea dealt latest concerning injury blow during Aston Villa clash
Published: December 26, 2021 7:11 pm
Last Updated: December 26, 2021 7:13 pm
European champions Chelsea have, on Sunday evening, been dealt an altogether concerning blow on the personnel front.
Lukaku on target
Thomas Tuchel’s men are of course locked in action at present.
Amid an altogether concerning dip in form of late, the Blues made the trip to Villa Park, desperate for all three points in their bid to remain within touching distance of rampant Premier League table-toppers Manchester City.
And, to their credit, as things stand, three points is precisely what Chelsea are headed towards.
It was actually hosts Villa who took the lead on the day, when, in altogether bizarre fashion, Matt Targett’s delivery from the left was nodded beyond the clutches of Edouard Mendy by Reece James:
🗣 “Aston Villa get a bit of luck…”
Targett whips a pacey ball into the #CFC box. James is near post, no Villa man around him, but it skims off his head and over Mendy! 😮
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports PL
📲 #AVLCHE blog 👉 https://t.co/SdcdnD8pem pic.twitter.com/EZot7nPN3h— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 26, 2021
Chelsea, though, have since turned the clash on its head, courtesy of a first-half Jorginho spot-kick, and, shortly before the hour mark, a fine header on the part of substitute Romelu Lukaku:
Just 10 minutes after coming on, Lukaku has his first Premier League goal since September 🔥
His movement is brilliant, nipping in front of Mings and glancing a header past Martinez! #AVFC 1-2 #CFC
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports PL
📲 #AVLCHE blog 👉 https://t.co/SdcdnD8pem pic.twitter.com/ItoUfqscUN— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 26, 2021
Silva blow
As alluded to above, though, amid an otherwise positive evening’s work thus far for Chelsea, the Pensioners have also been dealt an altogether untimely blow on the personnel front.
The problem in question was forthcoming early in the 2nd-half of action, when Thiago Silva, amid another fine display, was forced to limp out of proceedings with what appeared to be a muscular injury:
Thiago Silva off injured, Andreas Christensen on. #CFC #AVLCHE
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) December 26, 2021
It now remains to be seen whether the Brazilian faces any sort of extended spell on the sidelines, amid the frantic nature of the Premier League’s festive fixture list.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 18 | 35 | 44 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 18 | 35 | 41 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 27 | 38 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 18 | 4 | 32 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 17 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 16 | 2 | 27 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | -1 | 26 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 18 | -1 | 25 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 16 | 0 | 22 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 17 | -2 | 22 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 0 | 20 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 16 | -1 | 20 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | -3 | 20 |
| 14 | Everton FC | 17 | -8 | 19 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 17 | -10 | 17 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 18 | -18 | 16 |
| 17 | Watford FC | 16 | -10 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 15 | -7 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 18 | -23 | 10 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 17 | -26 | 10 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 6 |
| Jorginho | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 6 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 5 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 6 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 5 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 5 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 5 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 5 |
| Lascelles, Jamaal | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United | 0 | 5 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 3 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City | 3 |