By the end of the destruction, Aston Villa could just count themselves lucky that Thomas Tuchel did not deem Romelu Lukaku ready to play the entire match. The Chelsea manager said it would have been impossible for the forward to start but he still defied the advice of his medical department by introducing the striker at the interval, which Chelsea muddled through to after trailing to a Reece James own goal.
Sometimes needs must and Lukaku singlehandedly propelled Chelsea to a much-needed victory, heading in 11 minutes after entering and, in stoppage time, running half the pitch, brushing off desperate challenges from despairing defenders before winning Chelsea a second penalty. Crucially, they still have Manchester City in their sights.
