Chelsea boss Tuchel complains after victory at Aston Villa | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel complained about the schedule after their 3-1 win at Aston Villa.

Jorginho scored two penalties as Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat Aston Villa and move level on points with second-placed Liverpool.

Villa had taken a fortunate lead in the 28th minute when Matt Targett's whipped cross from the left was met by Chelsea defender Reece James and his glancing header diverted the ball past Edouard Mendy and into the net for an own goal.

But Chelsea were level six minutes later with Jorginho converting a penalty after Callum Hudson-Odoi had been brought down by Matty Cash's clumsy challenge in the 18-yard box.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku, who had missed three matches because of Covid-19, came on at the start of the second half and scored within 11 minutes, heading in from Hudson-Odoi's cross.

Lukaku helped create Chelsea's third as he won an injury-time penalty, which Jorginho converted for his second goal of the game.

Tuchel later said: "We showed a very good reaction after their goal. The own goal made things super complicated. The reaction was very good. We defended strong and did not allow big chances. It was a deserved win but hard work.

"We have concerns for injured players. We let Callum Hudson-Odoi play 90 minutes after Covid. Thiago Silva got injured. N'Golo Kante is injured. Mateo Kovacic is playing after injury and Covid without any preparation and training. We're just filling holes where we can fill them. We play teams without international duties. Five changes were invented because of Covid. Now we're in the middle of Covid and some teams are having games postponed and others aren't. Three changes is a big disadvantage."

Asked if five substitutes should be allowed, Tuchel continued: "Of course. Zero chance. We are the only league who play in winter which I love but we're not protecting the players. All other leagues have five changes. Then we compete against them in the Champions League. It's a bit frustrating. It will not stop. Brighton will play a super physical game then we have two games against Spurs, who are out of Europe and fully focused on the league and Carabao Cup.

"No, I was not aware of [Lukaku's excellent] record against Villa. I should have known this before. We decided at half-time to have a bit more threat and create more problems. I was happy he was involved. He was the game changer today. We took a lot of risks - 45 minutes was more than the medical department recommended. Who knows if it's the right thing to do."