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Chelsea: Three key clashes as Blues march on to Aston Villa

By Travis Tyler

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Thiago Silva of Chelsea FC reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Thiago Silva of Chelsea FC reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s English head coach Frank Lampard (L) reacts with Chelsea’s German striker Timo Werner at the final whistle during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge in London on October 3, 2020. (Photo by Mike Hewitt / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by MIKE HEWITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea’s English head coach Frank Lampard (L) reacts with Chelsea’s German striker Timo Werner at the final whistle during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge in London on October 3, 2020. (Photo by Mike Hewitt / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by MIKE HEWITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea absolutely blew it against Arsenal. They cannot afford to do so again despite the quick turnaround to Aston Villa.

With such a quick turnaround between matches, the Blues don’t get a chance to stew over the Arsenal embarrassment. There can simply be no excuse when having to rebound against Aston Villa. What key clashes will determine the fixture?

1. Aston Villa’s solidarity versus Chelsea’s sponges

Much of Aston Villa’s success this season has come down to being a very well organized team full of players there for each other instead of themselves. Their current league placement is not down to Jack Grealish as much as the media wants it to seem that way, but a full squad all going all out for one another.

Now, I am not going to dismiss Chelsea’s season as a whole based on one, two, or even three matches. That being said, the performance against Arsenal was spineless. It wasn’t even a matter of tactics because the players got the basics so wrong so consistently that tactics literally couldn’t even begin to influence the match. It was a weak willed, limp performance from a group of individuals that looked as though they had never met before.

If Chelsea doesn’t not rally from the Arsenal loss and come together, Aston Villa’s unity will destroy them. They already did so to Liverpool this season and they would surely love to claim another scalp. They played most of their match against Crystal Palace with 10 men and still scored twice afterwards to win 3-0. That’s togetherness and a performance like that only strengthens the feeling. Nothing Chelsea showed against Arsenal showed togetherness.

If Everton and Wolves losses and a flattering West Ham win couldn’t bring this team together, then the Arsenal loss must. Because if nothing else, Aston Villa will bring a team. Will Chelsea do the same or bring eleven individuals?

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