Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has called on his teammates to 'fight' for Champions League qualification after losing heavily to rivals Chelsea
Douglas Luiz opened the scoring against Chelsea
Douglas Luiz opened the scoring against Chelsea(Image: 2026 Aston Villa FC)
View Image
Douglas Luiz admitted Aston Villa "lost focus" in their heavy defeat to Chelsea but insists they still have the quality to qualify for the Champions League this season.
Villa had the opportunity to move nine points clear of the Blues on Wednesday night, but after losing 4-1 to their Champions League-chasing rivals, they are now just three points ahead of sixth place.
Luiz scored his first goal in over two years to open the scoring early on, before João Pedro bagged twice before the break.
Cole Palmer then added a third for Chelsea before the hour mark, and Pedro completed his hat-trick to put the game beyond Villa.
The turning point in the match came late in the first half when Ollie Watkins thought he had restored Villa’s lead, but VAR ruled him offside. Moments later, Pedro was deemed marginally onside at the other end to put Chelsea ahead.
“We scored the first goal, and Ollie (Watkins) scored a second, but he was offside,” Luiz told VillaTV.
“We know this can change the game, but we have to focus in the game. We just lost everything. I think we lost the focus, how we have to press, how we have to play.
“We lost some confidence, (and) we have to find our way again. We have to fight.”
He added: “We have to accept. We just have to work again, to keep focus.
“We have to win, the truth is, we have the ability to get the Champions League.
“We work for that – it’s the first objective we have, but we know it’s very difficult. Every game you have to get points, just to find the way again.
“Sometimes, when you lose the confidence, it’s very difficult. We just need to keep working hard.”
Content cannot be displayed without consent
Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It's a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice