Aston Villa players were furious with Chelsea's bizarre tactic to delay kick-off in Wednesday night's 4-1 loss.
Villa opened the scoring just two minutes into the fixture courtesy of the returning Douglas Luiz but their winless run continued in dismal fashion, with Joao Pedro bagging a hat-trick and Cole Palmer getting in on the act in the second half.
Chelsea took a 2-1 lead into the second half after Joao Pedro struck twice. The hosts were desperate to get the game back underway in the second half, where they had kick-off.
The Blues were in no hurry for the restart as instead of getting into position, the full starting XI participated in a team huddle.
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The positioning of that huddle was particularly interesting as all the players gathered right in the centre circle, therefore stopping Villa from taking the kick-off.
Villa players were not happy, with the likes of Amadou Onana, Ollie Watkins, and goalscorer Douglas Luiz remonstrating with referee Jarred Gillett.
Ezri Konsa also complained before Palmer eventually picked up the ball - which had been inside the huddle - and dropped it on the turf before Joao Pedro handed it over.
On commentary for TNT Sports, former Real Madrid and Liverpool star Steve McManaman took issue with the unusual delay tactic - as did many people on social media.
One user on X wrote: "Chelsea doing their team huddle in the centre circle. That's LinkedIn-type stuff right there."
A third added: "What’s was the Chelsea huddle, in the centre circle, before kick off all about? Did they think they were playing rugby again?"
What is the reason behind Chelsea's huddle?
Though it is the first instance that it received widespread attention, according to Kieran Gill from the Daily Mail, Chelsea have been doing it "for more than a month now".
According to the reporter, the idea was a joint collaboration from the team's leadership team featuring captain Reece James and former Wigan Warriors rugby player Willie Isa, who works as the player development and support officer.
Commenting on the huddle in his press conference, manager Liam Rosenior said: "It wasn't my idea, it's come from the players and I really like it because they're showing unity, togetherness and spirit.
"And you need that before anything, before you start talking about tactics or systems - you need a group of players to run and fight for each other. And in my time there's not been one game where I can say they've not given everything or I've been disappointed with their application.
"That bodes well because they're a good group, a tight group and they enjoy each other's company and that's half the battle."
The win for Chelsea means they are just three points behind Villa and Manchester United, who lost to 10-man Newcastle at St James' Park.
Chelsea are back in action on Saturday when they take on Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round.
Topics: Aston Villa, Chelsea
Josh Lawless