The Blues' head coach addressed the media following the 3-1 victory at Villa Park, which came at the expense of two of his star players.
What significance did those three points have this evening?
For the time being, very large. The boys are exhausted; it was a massive undertaking. We got off to a shaky start, we weren't sharp enough, I got the impression we tried to get away with skillful play, but there were some last percentages missing in sharpness and intensity.
Still, we didn't give up too much, and we fell behind due to an unlucky own goal.
However, the first half reaction was positive, and the second half reaction was even better. After our second goal, we struggled for ten minutes with Villa's reaction, but after that, we controlled the game and had numerous chances on the counterattack.
Our transition game could have won the game earlier, but we are very pleased with his. We have some injuries to our players again, and this will not change.
How important is a fit Romelu Lukaku to this Chelsea side?
He is, without a doubt, extremely important. Everyone is, but Romelu will be a key player, no doubt about it.
He last started working for us in October, and this was not due to a lack of quality or a belief that we would be better off without him. Without a doubt, this is not the case.
He was simply unlucky to be injured, and then, while attempting to return to the schedule that we have, he caught Covid, resulting in another ten days of symptoms.
We put him on the field for 45 minutes, which was longer than the fitness and medical departments recommended, but we thought we could take a risk and be more offensive with him.
Of course, I'm pleased that everything went well today. Let's see how he reacts and how he moves forward from here.
At halftime, what did you say to Lukaku?
To be completely honest, I asked him if he could play 45 minutes. I asked him, and he said yes, so we tried to play him as a number nine for 45 minutes.
Our tactical formation did not change. He doesn't need me to participate in a game like this. I don't think he needs a speech. He has never done anything else in his life. He simply needs to get back into shape, which is not easy when you have a long injury, a body like Rom, and you catch Covid.
When you look at the match sheet and see the names, you might think, yes, everyone is there, and it's a great squad. True, but when you look at the details, you can see that we are struggling and taking some significant risks. Due to injuries sustained during the game, Callum was forced to play 90 minutes straight after Covid today, and that is the way it is.
How important is the victory?
I believe it would be if we had a full squad, following the match in the how we played it and how we won it. Hopefully he went out before it became an injury and from there we try to continue and find a new squad and strong squad on Wednesday.
It gave us a lot of confidence, even for the guys who didn't get a lot of playing time. On Boxing Day, another one is away at Villa Park. This is a significant reaction and victory.
At the same time, I've been concerned about the players' health and safety in recent weeks. That's why you don't see me overjoyed. We could build huge momentum by pushing them and pushing them, as you suggest, but we're just checking on a daily basis to see who can be pushed.
Thiago and Kante are both injured and are unlikely to play on Wednesday.
I suppose so. It's only been two days. It does not appear that the time between today and Wednesday is particularly short. N'Golo is in excruciating pain in the same spot where he was injured against Juventus. It's the exact same location.
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