Where has this Chelsea been for most of the season?

From losing 4-2 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Thiago Silva’s wife criticising manager Mauricio Pochettino, they produced one of their best performances of the season to book a fifth round tie at home to Leeds United.

With Silva dropped, Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time before Enzo Fernandez curled a magnificent free-kick beyond his Argentina team-mate Emiliano Martinez from 30 yards.

Moussa Diaby scored a late consolation but Villa, who had warmed up for the replay with a 5-0 win away to Sheffield United, but were a shadow of the team that has impressed so often under Unai Emery.

The Athletic’s Ed Mackey and Simon Johnson analyse the action.

Where have Gallagher’s goals been?

It has been a long time since Gallagher got to feel what it is like to see a shot find the back of the net.

You have to go back to Frank Lampard’s only victory as interim head coach at Bournemouth last May for Gallagher’s last goal for Chelsea.
The England international has been one of the first team regulars this season, but he has kept his place because of his hard graft rather than end product.

Gallagher’s lack of output in the final third has given his critics plenty of ammunition that the club should cash in on his talents if they get an acceptable offer.

But he finally demonstrated the quality in front of goal that has been missing from his game for so long.

As Noni Madueke laid a ball from Jackson into Gallagher’s path, he steered the ball superbly into the top corner, giving Martinez no chance.

(Clive Mason/Getty Images)

It brought his 34-game goal-scoring drought to an end and more importantly gave the visitors the boost in confidence they needed. Noticeably, his own game was so much better than the meek showing in the last two defeats to Liverpool and Wolves, clearly lifted by what he had just done.

What happened to Villa’s much vaunted midfield?

For a team with four orthodox centre midfielders in the starting XI, Villa had no substance in the middle of the pitch.

Boubacar Kamara was in the lone pivot role in front of the back four, but was far too often left without any support. His main aide was supposed to be Douglas Luiz but the Brazilian has seldom looked so out of sorts.

Misplaced passes and an inability to break up the play were not just the hallmark of his performance, though.

John McGinn and Youri Tielemans in the more advanced midfield positions were regularly having to drop deeper than Emery would have liked, but they too provided little in the way of resistance.

Luiz shows his frustration towards Jackson (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

When Villa have been at their brilliant best under Emery, it has been his trademark ‘box midfield’ that has looked so impressive but his starting quartet against Chelsea looked a mile off their collective best, just as they had started to look settled.

Has the pressure eased on Pochettino?

With intense scrutiny on his position, Chelsea’s head coach made a point of standing by his players.

When few gave Chelsea a chance of winning at Villa Park, Pochettino gathered his squad at the training ground the day before and told them how much he trusted and believed in them.

In his difficult media duties over the past week, Pochettino has deliberately not publicly criticised individuals and made it clear they were collectively to blame, including the coaching staff, for the poor results against Liverpool and Wolves.

His man-management has been rewarded. The togetherness he was trying to instil was on show throughout at Villa Park, starting with a pre-match huddle on the pitch with players shouting their encouragement to each other.

Pochettino had also made the brave call of leaving out Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Christopher Nkunku for a variety of reasons. Silva’s demotion to the bench, just days after his wife appeared to question Pochettino’s role at the club, was a particularly strong call given the defender’s popularity with the fanbase.

(Clive Mason/Getty Images)

But the 39-year-old was not missed, nor was Sterling or Nkunku. This was arguably Chelsea’s best win of the season and certainly the most important given the scrutiny. And to show there was no bad blood between them, Silva was brought on late on to see out the game.

The manner of this victory sends a strong message that Chelsea’s players are still playing for Pochettino and he can get a response from them. The challenge now is to find the consistency which has eluded them all season.

How will Emery balance his squad?

A run to the Europa Conference League final would mean a 57-game season for Villa. For that reason, the FA Cup exit might be welcomed in some quarters.

But, with the strongest starting XI named, it feels like a missed opportunity for a rare deep run in a domestic cup competition.

It leaves Villa fighting on two fronts and with a real chance of silverware on one, but Emery now has to use his full squad to ensure it does not end in disappointment.

The introductions of Moussa Diaby and Jacob Ramsey from the bench against Chelsea, and Pau Torres’ return to the matchday squad, prove that the quality is there as injuries subside, so it is now a case of the Spaniard finding the right balance.

Emery is no stranger to balancing acts but with games coming thick and fast, trial and error is no longer an option.

What did the managers say?

We will bring you this after Emery and Pochettino have spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for Villa?

Sunday, February 11: Manchester United (H), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET

Another big test for Villa’s excellent home form this season following that loss to Newcastle in the previous league outing in front of their own fans. United have won the past three meetings between these clubs, albeit those matches have all been at Old Trafford.

What next for Chelsea?

Monday, February 12: Crystal Palace (A), Premier League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET

It’s 13 wins in a row against Palace for Chelsea in all competitions, going back to October 2017. The past three, however, and the last two at Selhurst Park, have all been by a single goal.

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(Top image: Gallagher and Fernandez, two of the scorers, celebrate. Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)