Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea had to fight hard to ensure they booked their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
Chelsea were sluggish once again in the first half just like they were against Tottenham, but a half-time change to bring on Mason Mount changed the Blues' tune.
An instant impact was made from the midfielder and in the 54th minute, Timo Werner headed past Jed Steer from close range after a fabulous cross from Reece James.
But ten minutes later, Cameron Archer levelled the scores with a superb header of his own to send the game to penalties. Chelsea came out on top, scoring four while Villa could only net three as Reece James scored the winner.
Chelsea will now play Southampton at home in the fourth round but Tuchel knows it wasn't easy for his side to set up a tie against the Saints next month.
What Thomas Tuchel said
"It’s normal we take some time," Tuchel told Chelsea TV post-match after the penalty shootout victory.
"We had a lot of changes. Some guys didn’t have minutes for some games. Then it was a tough opponent again. Second half we got stronger and stronger.
"It was a nice cup game, nice to watch for spectators in the stadium with a good end for us. It feels very good because we needed to fight hard for it."
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