Thomas Tuchel faces serious questions as Chelsea ride their luck to qualify for Champions League

The tension inside Villa Park could be felt on one side of the bench as Aston Villa took on Chelsea on the final day of the 2020-21 Premier League season.

At the 80th minute, the home side was leading 2-1, leaving the Blues at risk of failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Leicester City were drawing 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur, with the former needing to win to secure a place in the top four.

In the end, though, the Foxes dropped to a Europa League spot after Tottenham scored two late goals to win 4-2. The result allowed Chelsea to book their place in next season's Champions League despite losing to Aston Villa.

Narrow defeat at Villa Park, but results elsewhere mean we qualify for the Champions League next season. 👏#AVLCHE pic.twitter.com/fOQ1pmVEsQ

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 23, 2021

Lethargic Blues fall to Aston Villa

This was one of the most important games in Chelsea’s season and yet the Blues played like nothing was at stake. If not for Tottenham doing them a favour by beating Leicester, Thomas Tuchel’s side would have suffered the ignominy of missing out on a place in the Champions League.

Chelsea played with very little intensity and were particularly wasteful in the first half. Their defending was also calamitous, allowing Aston Villa to go 2-0 up before a late goal from Ben Chilwell halved the deficit to 2-1. At this point of time, there was no hope of a comeback.

The boss on #AVLCHE yesterday afternoon. 👇

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 24, 2021

Chelsea qualify for Champions League but questions remain

The Blues may have qualified for the Champions League but they were very lucky. Their performance on Sunday would have left manager Thomas Tuchel with more questions than answers.

The German has transformed Chelsea's fortunes since his arrival at the club. However, the team has played poorly in recent weeks, which will raise concerns ahead of the Champions League final against Manchester City on Saturday.

"It was the story of our season. We needed many clean sheets to overcome a lack of composure and precision. Today, we conceded two goals out of nothing and from set-pieces. We made it hard to come back,” Tuchel told Sky Sports after the game.

"We are lucky that Tottenham did the job for us and finished the job for us today. We came to win and to put any doubts to the side but it was not possible," Tuchel noted.

Chelsea have been known to be very compact under Tuchel but they have become more fragile in recent weeks. These glaring flaws must be addressed quickly or they will stand no chance against Pep Guardiola’s side in the Champions League final.