Chelsea cannot afford more league slip-ups but regained some momentum with Carabao Cup win over Brentford
Whatever happens when Chelsea visit Aston Villa on Sunday evening, Thomas Tuchel is bound to be in more of a festive mood than he was last year. “I’m very confident that I will survive Christmas with my job this year,” Tuchel said, thinking back to Paris Saint-Germain axing him on Christmas Eve 12 months ago. “We are in a fine place. We are not happy with the results we had in the home games: Burnley, Everton and Manchester United. But we are confident. We are competitive.”
The German’s spirits were high after Chelsea set up a Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham by winning 2-0 at Brentford on Wednesday night. After a week of fretting over positive Covid tests, suddenly the air felt a little lighter. Tuchel had seen Chelsea knuckle down at the Brentford Community Stadium, even though the absence of nine senior players because of injuries and Covid led to three teenagers making their debuts. The question now is whether the European champions can put a difficult period behind them by reviving their faltering title challenge at Villa Park.
