As he continued to haunt Aston Villa, Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to inspire Chelsea's comeback triumph.As the visitors recovered from behind to win 3-1, the striker scored his first Premier League goal since a brace against the same opponents in September.
Lukaku has now scored nine goals in his previous ten Premier League outings versus Villa, as well as causing mayhem to win a stoppage-time penalty for Jorginho to score the game's second goal.
An ankle ailment has limited his debut season back in England, but the Belgium international scored two goals in his last three games, providing Thomas Tuchel with a much-needed boost after Chelsea dropped out of the title fight.
They are now six points behind Manchester City and level on points with Liverpool, who are in second position.
Jorginho's first penalty had earlier cancelled out Reece James' own goal as Villa ran out of steam after a strong first half and remained in tenth place.
On Boxing Day, the hosts went about their job swiftly and purposefully without their leader Steven Gerrard, who was absent after contracting Covid.
Thiago Silva pushed Danny Ings' shot wide after Matty Cash capitalised on Marcos Alonso's weak touch as Villa attempted to unsettle Chelsea.
The hosts nevertheless had energy and cunning despite the absence of midfield enforcer John McGinn, who was typically the driving force. Only Trevoh Chalobah's excellent recovery block denied Ollie Watkins after 19 minutes.
Despite the fact that Mason Mount's curling effort hit the top of the bar, Villa broke the deadlock after 28 minutes. It was a fair lead on the balance of play, but Villa offered Chelsea a way back six minutes later when Cash lunged in on Callum Hudson-Odoi in the area, and Jorginho stepped up to convert the penalty.
Villa remained unfazed, stretching the visitors to the point where Mendy had to rush out to clear at Watkins' feet.
Ings was kept out by another Chalobah block, and Tuchel would have been cautious of the gap Villa was creating.
Chelsea have won three of their last eight games in all competitions, but they have been inconsistent for the first time under Tuchel.
Although their spot in the top four is not in risk – they are 11 points ahead of Tottenham in fifth – Tuchel was anxious enough to replace Chalobah with Lukaku at halftime.
Villa was quickly frightened by his presence, forcing Emi Martinez to punch clear and come dangerously close to Mount's cross.
When James rose to meet Matt Targett's left-wing cross, he only managed to divert it over Edouard Mendy and into the far corner, it was a great slice of luck, though one Villa deserved.
It shifted Chelsea's strategy, therefore it came as little surprise when he broke his Premier League drought after 56 minutes. Hudson-Odoi was spotted drifting in ahead of a sleepy Tyrone Mings by a superb cross, and he deftly flicked in from seven yards.
Soon after, Mount should have added a third when he beat Martinez to the ball but dragged wide with four players between him and the goal.
Villa had battled to keep their first-half momentum going and managed to pick up the pace with 15 minutes left, but with little success as Anwar El Ghazi's shot failed to concern Mendy.
But, unsurprisingly, it was Lukaku who made the decisive impact once more in stoppage time, after a great Martinez save denied Hudson-Odoi. Jorginho scored from the penalty spot after Ezri Konsa knocked him down.
