Read Sportstar's live match blog of Chelsea's last Premier League encounter of the 2020-21 season against Aston Villa on Sunday.
THATS ALL FOR TODAY!! THANKS FOR TUNING IN!! GOODNIGHT!!
Match Report: Chelsea FC squeezes into Champions League despite defeat at Aston Villa
You can also read our Liverpool vs Crystal Palace and Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur blogs through the links provided below.
What drama from the final day of the season. Chelsea lose its first away game under Tuchel but can breathe a sigh of relief as it has qualified for the Champions league after Leicester's defeat against Tottenham.
The final day of the Premier League has not disappointed as a yet another Premier League campaign comes to an end.
(Stay tuned for the Match Report)
FULL-TIME!!!! (Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 1)-Chelsea qualifies for the Champions League as Leicester City has lost to Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at the King Power. Liverpool also qualifies for Champions League after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Anfield.
90+4' BOOKING!! Ben Chilwell gets booked late in the second half.
90+2' Grealish makes a surge into the Chelsea box after quite a long time but nothing comes from the move.
FIVE ADDED MINUTES!!
89' RED CARD FOR AZPILICUETA- After tripping Jack Grealish from behind he took a took at Grealish's face once the Villa captain got up. Referee Stuart Atwell with no choice but to show a red.
87' MARTINEZ WITH A BRILLIANT SAVE!! Chelsea cranking the pressure up. A great cross at Villa's back post, which Chilwell met with great sting but Martinez kept it away brilliantly.
83' Nakamba with a precious block again for Villa. He is having an excellent 50th game for Villa so far.
81' BOOKING!!! Villa keeper Emi Martinez is booked.
79' CHANGE!!! Jacob Ramsay comes on for Anwar El Ghazi
75' PENALTY SHOUT FOR CHELSEA!!! Chelsea players are convinced that Tyrone Mings handled the ball with his hand inside the box but VAR checks it and nothing is given.
73' CHANGE!! England u-18 player Chukwuemeka comes on for goal scorer Bertrand Traore.
70' GOOOOAAALLLLL FOR CHELSEA!!! ITS CHILWELL!! CHELSEA BACK IN THE GAME!! (Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 1) Chilwell met a beautiful cross by Pulisic and guided it inside goal, which Martinez tried to claw away, but the ball was already over the line and the goal is given.
65' CHANGE!! Kai Havertz comes on for Mateo Kovacic. Another attacking change by Tuchel. Chelsea needs to score.
64' BOOKING!! John McGinn becomes the first Villa player to have his name taken down by the referee today.
60' CHANGE!! Hakim Ziyech comes on for Jorginho. A forgettable afternoon for the Italian, who gave away the penalty, which led to Villa's second goal.
60' Great challenge by Rudiger on Traore just as he was about to release Watkins for a Villa counter.
59' Werner puts the ball into the net but it is offside. Deja vu for Timo Werner. VAR checks it and the goal stays disallowed.
55' It is contrasting scenes in the second half as it is all Aston Villa in the second half. Can Chelsea turn the game on its head? Only time will tell. Defensively, Villa as consistent as the first half.
52' EL GHAZI SCOORESSS!! VILLA LEADS BY TWO GOALS!! (Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 0). Leicester has also taken the lead against Tottenham at the King Power. Champions League dreams fading for the Blues.
50' PENALTY TO VILLA!!! Traore brought down inside the box by Jorginho. Chelsea in deep trouble.
49' SAVE!!! Great block by Villa again as Chelsea not making most of the chance yet again.
47' Exciting start to the second half as potential goal threats at both sides of the pitch. Chelsea's inches away from equalising after a deflected shot by Pulisic off Targett is inches away from goal.
45' CHANGE!! Kepa Arrizabalaga comes on for the injured Edouard Mendy
THE SECOND-HALF UNDERWAY!! HUGE 45 MINUTES FOR CHELSEA!!
Football at its best as Aston Villa, after being the second best team throughout the majority of the first-half, finds itself ahead at half-time.
Chelsea despite constantly attacking Villa's goal, has been wasteful with its chances, which has now been punished.
In other news, Liverpool is leading against Crystal Palace by one goal at Anfield. Leicester and Tottenham are currently sharing the spoils with a goal each at the King Power Stadium.
Brace yourselves and stay tuned for the second half.
HALF-TIME!!! (Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 0)
45+2' BOOKING!!! Yellow for Werner for his challenge on Traore after a short free-kick with Grealish.
TWO ADDED MINUTES!!!
45' BOOKING!! Jorginho is booked by referee Stuart Atwell for his challenge on El-Ghazi.
43' GOOOAAALLLLL FOR VILLA !!!! ITS BERTRAND TRAORE AGAINST HIS FORMER CLUB!!! (Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 0)- Chelsea has been punished for being so wasteful. Bertrand Traore with a massive goal as he found himself free inside the box as Grealish pinged in a low corner. His shot hit the underside of the goal and crept inside goal. Proper training ground goal.
40' FOUL!!! Villa gets a free kick courtesy of Chilwell's foul on Konsa.
35' In a Villa team, which has clearly been the second best side yet, midfielders John McGinn and Marvelous Nakamba has been excellent so far.
33' Full marks to Chelsea for effort but the London side has not been clinical in front of goal till this point.
28' SHOT!!! Its John McGinn this time at the heart of a counter-attack but his attempted finesse at Mendy's misses the goal. Nervy moment for Tuchel and his men.
28' SHOT!!! Villa with a rare surge towards Chelsea's goal as Traore attempted a long-range effort at Chelsea's goal, but it sails wide of the stretching Mendy.
24' CHANCE!!! Chelsea's incessant attacking almost bore fruit as Mount found a loose ball inside Villa's half and blasted at goal. His shot, however, was below par.
22' Pulisic attempting a spectacular but his acrobatic shot had no power as Martinez collected the ball without much fuss.
20' Chelsea with attack after attack at Villa's goal but nothing too substantial to trouble Martinez till now.
17' SHOT!!! Werner set up Mount, who bulleted the ball towards Martinez, but the ball was straight and at a comfortable height for the goalkeeper.
14' Chelsea's attack against Aston Villa's defence- the best way to describe the first 15 minutes of the match.
11' Villa's early pressure has dissipated completely. Its all Chelsea now as Tuchel's men swarm Villa's half in search of that all-important first goal.
9' Excellent defending by Villa. Chelsea with some crisp football around the home team's box, which ended with Mount trying to shoot at goal but its blocked by Nakamba.
7' Villa keeping Chelsea pegged into its own half. The midfield is cluttered but a certain sense of discipline being shown by Dean Smith's men.
3' A half-hearted shot by Mount at Martinez's goal as the ball kept rising and rising above the Villa goal.
2' Early warning issued by Aston Villa as Watkins made a well-timed run behind Chelsea's defence but the Blues recovered in time.
1' KICK-OFF!!!
08:30 IST- WE ARE UNDERWAY!! Fasten your seatbelts, the charge for Europe is on.
08:25 IST- Five minutes to kick-off!!! Its surely good to see the fans back.
07:50- The "Marvelous" Nakamba
07:30 IST- LINEUPS ARE OUT
Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett, Mcginn, Nakamba, Traore, Grealish (C), Ei Ghazi, Watkins
Coach: Dean Smith
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta (C), Silva, Rudiger, James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Werner, Pulisic
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
07:15 IST- Villa Park will welcome fans for the last game of the season
Form Guide- Last five matches
Aston Villa: WLDLW
Chelsea: WLWWW
Know the scenarios: What Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester need to reach Champions League
Preview
Aston Villa will go "hell for leather" for a victory that could cost Chelsea a place in next season's Champions League when the sides clash at Villa Park on Sunday, manager Dean Smith said.
Victory for Chelsea on the final day of the season will seal third place in the Premier League, but anything else could mean it is overtaken by Liverpool and Leicester City.
Chelsea is unbeaten away since German coach Thomas Tuchel took charge in January.
"He's had a great start. They qualified for the FA Cup final, Champions League final and now they're trying to qualify for the Champions League via the top four," Smith said.
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"He's come in and done exactly what he's been asked to do so far. Now it's our job to put an end to their away record.
"We'll be going hell for leather to try and do that."
Villa has struggled in the second half of the season but with 10,000 fans back for the finale, Smith hopes that his team can crown an encouraging season in style.
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They enjoyed an impressive 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, a game in which midfield playmaker Jack Grealish made his first start for three months after injury.
"I expect the attitude and mentality we showed at Tottenham," Smith said. "The players know what our supporters expect and what they want to see."
On Grealish's return, Smith added: "He's getting up to full fitness, he showed a real confidence in his performance at Tottenham and hopefully we will see more of that on Sunday."
Villa will finish 11th, which is a huge improvement from last season when it escaped relegation on the final day with a draw against West Ham United.
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"To finish 11th, which is where we will finish now, is an improvement of six places and that's with only bringing five players in," Smith said.
"I'm very pleased, in general, with how the players have performed and improved. That will continue."
- Reuters
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