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Chelsea: Three lessons learnt from draw to Aston Villa to end 2020

By Vansh Ambashta

Chelsea's French striker Olivier Giroud (C) vies with Aston Villa's Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz (L) and Aston Villa's English defender Kortney Hause (R) during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on December 28, 2020. (Photo by Richard Heathcote / 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 RICHARD HEATHCOTE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's French striker Olivier Giroud (C) vies with Aston Villa's Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz (L) and Aston Villa's English defender Kortney Hause (R) during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in London on December 28, 2020. (Photo by Richard Heathcote / 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 RICHARD HEATHCOTE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea during the UEFA Champions League Group E stage match between Chelsea FC and FC Sevilla at Stamford Bridge on October 20, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea during the UEFA Champions League Group E stage match between Chelsea FC and FC Sevilla at Stamford Bridge on October 20, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images) /

Chelsea ended 2020 with an ultimately lack luster draw to Aston Villa. What lessons were learned by the Blues after (during?) a bad run?

Once again, Chelsea failed to get the job done and now sits with one victory in the past six games. The performance was better than shambolic showing against Arsenal and the Blues looked positive for large parts of the game. However, a controversial clash between Jack Grealish and Andreas Christensen led to the latter staying down before a goal went in from a position where the Dane would have been standing. Here is what we learned from the draw at Stamford Bridge.

1. Callum Hudson-Odoi is finally proving his mettle and he is here to stay

The one positive that has come out in the past week is that Callum Hudson-Odoi has been Chelsea’s brightest players and he has finally announced himself this season. Hudson-Odoi has had bad luck with injuries in recent times and Lampard has also been hesitant in giving him chances. However, against Arsenal, Lampard decided to trust the young Englishman and he turned out to be the only player that looked like a threat in the game.

Against Aston Villa, Hudson-Odoi was positive and moved the ball in the right directions. He went into one on ones and was never afraid to run past his marker. This showed that he has the right ability and composure to start for Chelsea week in and week out. Another massive thing that might have been unnoticed is the fact that Hudson-Odoi was putting in some beautiful long balls throughout the game. His passing was accurate and he managed to find his man more often than not.

What is funny is that many people said that Hudson-Odoi should leave out on loan. It seems that the board and the manager were right when they insisted on keeping the 20-year-old. Now, it is extremely important that he is supported by Lampard and given a consistent run in the starting XI as he has earned it with his positive performances in a rather gloomy Chelsea side.

Now, one thing that Hudson-Odoi must improve is his finishing and that is something Lampard noticed as well. Our star boy is finally showing what he is made of and he can just get better and better!

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