Jorginho scored two penalties as Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat Aston Villa and move level on points with Liverpool.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Aston Villa hosted Chelsea at the Villa Park in one of the six games played in the Premier League on Boxing day, after the rise in Covid-19 cases led to the cancellation of some fixtures.
The home side under Steven Gerrard have seen a positive surge in form of late, while Thomas Tuchel’s men have suffered a slump, with just two wins from their last five games.
Aston Villa had taken a fortunate lead in the 28th minute when Matt Targett’s whipped cross was met by Chelsea defender Reece James and his glancing header diverted the ball past Edouard Mendy and into the net for an own goal.
Chelsea responded after going a goal down and were awarded a penalty when Matty Cash tripped Callum Husson-Odoi.
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Jorginho stepped forward to put the resultant penalty past Emiliano Martinez in the 34th minute to level the scores for Chelsea.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku, came on at the start of the second half and scored in the 56th minute, heading in from a Hudson-Odoi’s cross to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead.
Hudson-Odoi should have wrapped the game up when Kovacic played a perfect ball to the forward, but he cannot beat the Villa goalkeeper as he gets down low to make the save.
Lukaku helped create Chelsea’s third goal as he won an injury-time penalty after he was brought down by Ezri Konsa, Jorginho converted the spot kick for his second goal to give the visitors 3-1 win.
Romelu Lukaku after the match said he was happy with the win and his performance.
He said: “I needed a performance like this. It’s been difficult [playing a few minutes here and there]. The manager has his reasons but I kept working hard and today… It was good for us to win and I’m happy with my performance. Now I have to push on”
He attributed his goal to his movement in the box and said the team is focused on catching up with the two teams ahead of them.
“My movement in the box has become better over the years. I’ve tried to be less static and be on the move all the time. It was a brilliant cross. [On the barnstorming run for the penalty] That’s one of my preferred actions – running into space, using my speed and power.
“We are the hunters now. The last few results haven’t been the best, and now we have to chase [Manchester City and Liverpool]. Every game between now and the end of the season is a final.” he said.