As Villa manager Unai Emery's changes swung the game in their favour, Maresca's substitutes made little impact. While Maresca's changes have occasionally worked, it has usually been when resting key players. Villa's quintet of Watkins, Amadou Onana, former Chelsea loanee Jadon Sancho, Lucas Digne and Lamare Bogarde, had an average age of over 26. Chelsea, meanwhile, made four changes - Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Malo Gusto - with an average age of under 21. The average age of their starting XI is 24 years and 219 days, while substitutes average 21 years and 349 days - both are the youngest in the league.

Source: BBC December 30, 2025 04:53 UTC