Chelsea grabbed a crucial three points on Sunday against Aston Villa as they cruised to a 3-1 victory. However, it wasn't all that convincing until Blues boss Thomas Tuchel decided to bring on Romelu Lukaku in the second half, with the Belgian instantly making a difference. He smashed home a clinical header just minutes after taking the pitch then also earned a penalty following a dashing run in injury time as Jorginho put away his second penalty of the fixture.

Tuchel wasn't pleased that he had to use Lukaku though after he just recovered from COVID-19 and he once again ripped apart the Premier League for their inability to handle the virus. Via Sky Sports:

“It's not fair today. He [Lukaku] had a very good performance, he was very helpful, but it's not fair. He's not ready for that even if he wants it.

“We've all been in bed for 10 days with flu. I did not play two days later a match at Villa Park – we don't know what happens from that. We just put the players in but we don't know [what the impact is]. He was a game-changer today. I'm super impressed with the guys but I'm super concerned.

Aside from the risk of using Lukaku, Chelsea also lost N'Golo Kante and Thiago Silva to injury at Villa Park. Tuchel was vocal on COVID-19 in past weeks after the EPL failed to postpone their match against Wolves last weekend as the Blues had numerous positive cases within their squad. The German couldn't help but say how concerned he is about Chelsea's health moving forward:

“It's a big win but I'm always concerned for the health and safety of the players and that's why you don't see me fully excited.

“Normally you could catch huge momentum and push them but the only thing we are doing is checking on a daily basis who can be pushed.”

Nevertheless, Romelu Lukaku looks back on track and he gave the European champions a much-needed spark as they remain in the title race heading into the new year.