Chelsea and Villa finished 0-0 on Friday night in the FA Cup fourth round tie, which means it’ll take a replay next month in the Midlands to separate them.
The Blues are already through to one domestic cup final, where they’ll play Liverpool at Wembley Stadium for the Carabao Cup trophy.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will at least be in the hat for the FA Cup fifth round after yesterday’s result.
Carney Chukwuemeka, 20, only entered the action for the closing stages as he steps up his injury recovery.
The box-to-box midfielder has made three substitute appearances in the last few games, but the club are clearly being cautious with his return from a knee problem.
Football.London journalist reported via X last night that Chukwuemeka was getting grief from Villa’s away supporters inside Stamford Bridge before he even came on.
He received loud boos while warming up on the touchline during the first-half, so it’s clear supporters are still bitter about his Villa exit in 2022.
Vincent wrote: “Chukwuemeka receiving huge boos as he goes over to warm up near the Aston Villa supporters.”
Chelsea signed Chukwuemeka in a £20m deal (Sky Sports) from Villa back in August 2022. We’re pretty confident that we’ll be able to look back on this transfer as a masterstroke further down the line.
Developed in the Villa academy, Chukwuemeka is a special midfield talent that we’ve got big faith in.
It would be quite special if he’s fit enough to start by the time the cup replay come around next month because the youngster must be extra motivated to prove a point.
Journalist Matt Law told the ‘London Is Blue’ podcast earlier this month that Chukwuemeka has been taught a different way to run after his injury. Basically, Chelsea fans need to be patient with his return to full fitness.
