Steve Nicol, who used to play defense for Liverpool, really ripped into Chelsea, saying the team needs to get their act together, especially the players who are supposed to be running the show. He was talking on ESPN and brushed off the excuse that Chelsea's just inconsistent because they're young.

Nicol said, I'm tired of hearing that Chelsea's a young team. Sanchez is 27, Cucurella is 28, and the two guys in the middle are 24—but they've got plenty of experience. Reece James is 26, come on. It really comes down to Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in the midfield; it starts with them.

Nicol thinks Chelsea's issues really show when they're winning. He says the midfield doesn't take charge or control the game well enough. He thinks the coach, Maresca, needs to get on them when they're ahead and feeling the heat.

"I do think they've got some problems with their center-backs, which doesn't help," he said. But those two midfielders are the heart of the team, and they should be the ones sorting things out around them and behind them when they're in the lead. They need to stop the other team from playing and lock in the win. You play well, you get ahead, but then you have to be smart. And these guys have been around the block. They've won the Club World Cup and a European title; how much more experience do you need?

Maresca needs to grab those two, talk to them, and make sure they know what to do when they're ahead and trying to close out the game. You can't just keep playing the same way, then give up a goal and keep playing like nothing happened. Sometimes you just have to grind it out and make sure you win, and those two are where it starts, Nicol said.

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.