Having chose not to sign any players in the January transfer window, Liam Rosenior watched one of Chelsea's big decisions come back to haunt the west Londoners
20:11, 04 Mar 2026Updated 20:11, 04 Mar 2026
Douglas Luiz opening the scoring for Aston Villa against Chelsea
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Chelsea had a bad start in the Midlands(Image: TNT Sports)
Former Chelsea transfer target Douglas Luiz fired Aston Villa into the lead against the Blues. Liam Rosenior's side came into the contest at Villa Park trailing the top four by six points.
They got off to the worst possible start at Villa Park, as Luiz finished off a free-flowing Villa move by flicking in a superb finish from close range. Liam Bailey beat Jorrel Hato on the left wing and saw his low cross be dummied brilliantly by Ollie Watkins and finished expertly by Luiz.
It was a striker's finish from the midfielder, who returned to the Midlanders in the January transfer window after a torrid loan spell at Nottingham Forest. To rub further salt into the wounds, Luiz could have been wearing a blue shirt had things been different.
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In the winter transfer window, Luiz was linked with a move to Chelsea. He was identified as a short-term option for Rosenior's side to add greater depth to an area the Blues are short in.
However, Chelsea opted not to sign the Brazilian, or any other midfielder for that matter. The only key addition to Rosenior's squad was central defender Mamadou Sarr, who was called back from his loan at Strasbourg.
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Considering Luiz scored so brilliantly against Rosenior's side, the Chelsea boss may have been cursing the board's decision not to bring him to the Bridge. He has been relying on Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos to protect the back four.
However, against Villa, captain Reece James was moved into central midfield, with Malo Gusto deployed at right back. Enzo Fernandez, who often plays as a deep-lying midfielder, was pushed further forward with Cole Palmer moved out to the right wing, but given licence to roam.
Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Chelsea at Villa Park on March 04, 2026 in Birmingham, England
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Luiz may have been a Chelsea player had things been different(Image: 2026 Aston Villa FC)
Pedro Neto's red card against Arsenal forced Liam Rosenior into shuffling his pack. With Jamie Gittens and Estevao also injured, Alejandro Garnacho was given a rare start under the ex-Strasbourg manager.
While these were big calls, Rosenior also surprised many by dropping Robert Sanchez and handing Filip Jorgensen his second Premier League start of the campaign.
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Explaining the decision to deploy the Danish international before the match, Rosenior said: “He's played very good in training.
"The way I work with goalkeepers, I don't have an outright number one. I want competition in every area. He's been waiting very patiently for his chance. Now I've given it to him this evening.”
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