The German forward opened the scoring 10 minutes into the second half of last night’s third-round tie before we eventually triumphed in a penalty shoot-out after the game finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Having netted his first goal of the season with that fine header from Reece James’ cross, hot on the heels of his assist for Antonio Rudiger in Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Tottenham Hotspur, he feels he has taken some big steps forward in recent days.

‘It’s good to be back on the score sheet, good to score at Stamford Bridge and I’m happy that I’m back on the pitch,’ said Werner.

‘I think that the last few weeks were not very easy for me, but every goal, every assist brings me back on track, so it was good for me today and also for the team.’

Timo was also pleased with the timing of his goal, as it gave Chelsea a boost in the second half of a difficult but entertaining cup tie, even if we couldn’t make our advantage last and find a winner in normal time.

‘I think both teams gave everything. Aston Villa were a very tough opponent and they showed why they are always very hard to play against. I think in the second half we were lucky to score an early goal, it gave us a little bit of a push, but 10 or 15 minutes after the goal we lost a bit of control when we conceded.

‘After that we wanted to finish the game in 90 minutes, it was important. In the end it didn’t happen, but good penalties at the end saved us.’

James’ nerveless strike into the top corner sealed our 4-3 victory on penalties, after Ashley Young and Ben Chilwell had both hit the crossbar, but Kepa Arrizabalaga again impressed in a shoot-out by saving from Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba.

Werner was quick to acknowledge Kepa’s role, with the goalkeeper already having stopped two penalties when we beat Villarreal to lift the UEFA Super Cup before playing a big part in keeping us in the hunt for the Carabao Cup trophy yesterday.

‘Kepa is unbelievable in penalty shoot-outs,’ added our number 11. ‘This season already he has saved us two opportunities to win titles. He’s a great guy and a great goalkeeper.’