Cole Palmer's new girlfriend was spotted at Stamford Bridge watching Chelsea get beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa. Olivia Holder was at the game Saturday, where Palmer got subbed off with 20 minutes left. This comes just after a low-key date at Winter Wonderland, but there wasn't much to celebrate after the loss.

Palmer's new thing

Holder and Palmer reportedly go way back to when they were 17. They first showed up in public together on a fancy vacation last summer. Around Christmas 2025, they were seen at Winter Wonderland—about a year after Palmer took his ex, Connie Grace, there before they broke up last summer. Now, this weekend, she was watching the 23-year-old as Chelsea lost to Villa. Palmer, who used to play for Manchester City, couldn't do much, and he looked ticked off when he got taken out of the game in the 72nd minute.

Coach Enzo Maresca said about that, He was doing great, both with the ball and without it, pressing hard. He was really good. We have another game soon, so it's good he's back and playing well.

Chelsea's foul-up

Chelsea played great for about an hour before Villa turned it around and won. In the first half, Chelsea almost scored twice, while Villa didn't even come close. Maresca said that himself.

Maresca, who watched from the stands because he was suspended after getting three yellow cards, told BBC Match of the Day, "For an hour, until they scored, we were all over them." We were awesome. But after that, things changed. We should have scored two or three more before they tied it up.

In that first hour, you can't say it was about experience. But afterwards, we had problems. Their subs—Watkins, Onana, and Sancho—helped them a bit.

Chelsea's misery, Villa's happiness

Villa's coach, Unai Emery, was happy his team won, especially after how the first half went. Ollie Watkins scored twice, cancelling out Joao Pedro's first goal and pushing Villa's winning streak to 11 games.

Emery said, We stuck to our game plan, but they were amazing in the first half. They had all the control. We couldn't get the ball. We were defending deep and doing okay. They only got one corner, and they scored from it. We had to be passionate and keep fighting. That's what we talked about at halftime. We knew we could play better because they were pushing so hard in the first half.

We were getting better and needed some fresh players with different skills. The guys who came in really made a difference and helped us win.

Villa kills Chelsea's title hopes.

This loss puts Chelsea 13 points behind Arsenal and 10 behind Villa. It looks like Chelsea's out of the title race. Their best bet now is to win a cup and try to get into the Champions League next season.

About Villa's next game against Arsenal, who're leading the league, Emery said, We're going to compete hard. We're not talking about our league goals yet because there are other teams like Liverpool and Chelsea fighting hard for points. We're doing great, winning games, and competing well, but we need to stay aware as we improve.

He said they're not trying to win the title with Arsenal or Manchester City, who are in second place.

There are still 20 games left, he added. It's not over yet.

Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took charge at Chelsea in 2022, they've splashed out almost £1.5 billion on players.

They could still use some better centre-backs and forwards. But the Blues did win their first silverware since Roman Abramovich left during the summer, and things are looking up this season.

Chelsea's current owners would rather shake up the team during the summer transfer window than in January.

That doesn't mean they're totally closed off to signing anyone in January. For example, they talked to Antoine Semenyo's agent but decided not to try and get the Bournemouth forward after all.

Top Priority

Chelsea really needs help at centre-back.

They've got Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, and Josh Acheampong, plus Aaron Anselmino and Mamadou Sarr are doing well on loan.

So they have enough bodies, but the quality, besides the injured Levi Colwill, should be better, considering how much Chelsea has spent.

Sources say Chelsea is likely to have a quiet January and might not sign anyone. But they're interested in adding an experienced centre-back, probably next summer.

What Else do They Need

They also need to strengthen the central midfield at some point. Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo shouldn't have to carry the whole load.

They also need to figure out if Robert Sanchez is the goalie for the future. Mike Penders, who's 20 and shining on loan for Strasbourg (Chelsea's sister club), is seen as the natural replacement.

A decision will probably come in the summer, when they're also expected to sign a forward.

Possible Ins

Chelsea isn't in serious talks with anyone right now for January. They decided not to go after Semenyo, so a quiet window is expected.

But their scouts are always watching players. The club has been linked to Konstantinos Karetsas, a Greek kid who plays for Genk, and Djylian N'Guessan, a 17-year-old winger from Saint-Etienne.

Possible Outs

There will be more players leaving than coming in this window.

Raheem Sterling would rather stay in London, but he is not in the first team plans, and he can leave if they find a move that works.

Axel Disasi is also training separately and can leave for good. Chelsea can't loan any more players to foreign clubs because they've already used all six international loan spots.

Big European clubs are watching how much Acheampong plays, and they might want to take him on loan for six months. But Chelsea might not want to let him go. Dario Essugo is in the same situation.

Academy player Shim Mheuka is ready to play more in the first team. They'll consider letting him go on loan.