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Chelsea v Aston Villa Live Commentary & Result, 28/12/2020, Premier League

December 28, 2020
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Chelsea dropped points for the fourth time in five Premier League games as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa in their final match of 2020.

Frank Lampard will have been hoping for a response to their woeful 3-1 defeat to Arsenal and dropped big-money signing Timo Werner amid a goal drought, but the Blues were no more fluent against Dean Smith’s side.

Villa’s hopes of keeping five consecutive top-flight clean sheets for the first time since September 1998 were ended 34 minutes in as Olivier Giroud struck, making it seven successive goalscoring appearances against the Villans in the Premier League for the Frenchman.

But Anwar El Ghazi levelled with his fifth goal in as many games in the 50th minute and that proved decisive, while Chelsea were fortunate to not concede again when John McGinn hit the crossbar.

An entertaining start saw both sides threaten, Jack Grealish having a curling 18-yard effort turned wide by Edouard Mendy before Christian Pulisic lashed into the side-netting at the other end.

Another opportunity was spurned by Pulisic just past the half-hour, though two minutes later Chelsea had the lead – Giroud sending a thumping header in from Ben Chilwell’s inviting delivery.

Villa levelled early in the second half when Matty Cash’s cross found El Ghazi at the back post, and he steered home through the legs of Mendy, who probably should have done better.

Chelsea’s reaction was hardly emphatic and Villa went agonisingly close to a spectacular second, the ball breaking kindly for McGinn 30 yards from goal and his fierce effort cannoned off the bar.

Lampard introduced the much-maligned Werner and Kai Havertz towards the end, though neither inspired an improvement in Chelsea’s fortunes against a shrewd Villa backline.

What does it mean? Chelsea’s slide set to continue 

Lampard’s hopes of mounting a credible title challenge are seemingly diminishing by the day – they could be nine points adrift of the summit by the time they next play.

To make matters worse, they have played more games than most teams around them and are showing few signs of improvement, with those big-money additions of Werner and Havertz still nowhere near the expected level.

At this rate, Chelsea will struggle to even finish in the top four, whereas Villa continue to upset the odds as they are now five unbeaten in the league.

Cash is on the money 

Grealish understandably gets a lot of the plaudits in this Villa team, and he was once again impressive, but right-back Cash arguably played an even more important role. Not only did he get forward to good effect, with the visitors’ goal coming from one of his four crosses, he was also dependable at the back – his three tackles and two interceptions were team highs, while his total of five clearances was bettered only by Kortney Hause.

Pulisic fails to inspire 

He was lively enough on the left flank and worked hard, his 10.8 kilometres covered second only to N’Golo Kante, but Pulisic just was not effective enough during proceedings. He should have done better with his early chances and he otherwise failed to produce a single key pass.

Key Opta facts

– Chelsea have lost just one of their last 14 Premier League home games (W10 D3), with that lone defeat coming against Liverpool earlier this season.
– Since losing at Liverpool in July, Villa have only suffered one defeat in their last nine away games in the Premier League (W5 D3).
– Chilwell equalled his Premier League season-best tally of four assists, with the Chelsea defender already having as many goal involvements in this campaign as in 2019-20 (6 – 2 goals, 4 assists).
– Since his Premier League debut in August 2012, Giroud has scored more headed goals than any other player in the competition (32).
– Villa have shipped 51 Premier League goals away at Chelsea – only against Manchester City and Manchester United (both 53) have they conceded more on the road in the competition.

What’s next? 

Chelsea have a fairly substantial break now until they return to action at home to Manchester City in a potentially thrilling encounter on Sunday, assuming it is not postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Pep Guardiola’s ranks. Villa, on the other hand, have another tough task on New Year’s Day, as they go to Manchester United.

38′ The Frenchman also continues to be the scourge of Villa. He has now scored in each of his last seven Premier League games against the Clarets, and nine times during that span.

36′ Giroud starts, Giroud scores. That is certainly the trend at the moment. The striker finds the net for the seventh time in his last five starts for Chelsea.

34′ Chilwell delivered an inviting first-time cross that Giroud was only too grateful to attack.

Chelsea

34′ GIROUD!!! 1-0 CHELSEA! What a lovely goal by the hosts! The Frenchman neatly links up with Pulisic, who releases Chilwell on the left, and the striker is in the right place to head home the England international’s cross at the near post.

32′ Chance! At the other end, Azpilicueta’s cross is flicked on by Giroud. But with his back to goal, Pulisic is unable to hook the ball underneath the crossbar.

30′ The visitors threaten again and Mendy punches El Ghazi’s cross only as far as Cash, who is unable to get a clean strike on goal under pressure from Pulisic and Mount.

27′ More promising signs again for Villa. Victory today would be their third in London this season; matching their best Premier League returns from the 1992-93, 1995-96 and 2008-09 seasons.

25′ Good movement from Hause as he escapes his marker to meet Grealish’s free-kick, but is unable to direct his header towards goal.

24′ Thankfully, Cash just needed time to recover and after receiving the attention he needed, the right-back is back on his feet.

22′ Concern for Villa as Cash is in need of medical attention. The full-back put his head in where it hurt and was accidentally caught by the boot of Pulisic, who was looking to execute a spectacular bicycle kick.

20′ Villa have been outstanding on the road this season; winning seven of their eight games away from Villa Park. They have kept six clean sheets during that span, while conceding just two goals.

18′ The Blues survive the corner, but these are warning signs from Villa. The Clarets are looking to end a run of six consecutive Premier League defeats in this fixture.

16′ It just needed a touch! At the other end, Grealish pulls the strings for Villa with a surging run to the byline. He cuts the ball back across the area, but nobody gets a touch to it. The danger is not over yet for Chelsea, who concede a corner.

14′ Good block. Pulisic takes aim again for the Blues after the ball is neatly laid into his path by Mount. However, McGinn throws his body in the way for Villa and deflects the effort behind for a corner.

12′ GREAT CHANCE! Loose possession from Villa and Pulisic is onto the ball in a flash. He darts into the heart of the Villa defence, before firing his shot just wide of the target.

9′ El Ghazi is very much the man in form as far as Villa are concerned. He has scored four goals in their last four games; already matching his tally for the entire 2019-20 season.

7′ Grealish pulls the resulting corner back to the edge of the area, where El Ghazi is unmarked. However, a deflection takes the sting out of his first-time shot and makes it easy for Mendy to gather.

6′ Good effort! Neat play from Villa sees them work the ball to Grealish on the corner of the penalty area. In trademark fashion, he works space and cuts onto his right foot, before unleashing a bending shot that is turned away by Mendy.

5′ Good early pressure from Chelsea sees them force a couple of corners. But Villa deal with the danger on both occasions.

3′ The Blues may have struggled for form of late, but their strong home record remains intact. In fact, they are unbeaten in 10 at Stamford Bridge, winning six of those.

1′ The referee blows his whstle and Chelsea get us underway.

The teams are coming out onto the pitch and kick-off is moments away.

The form book would make Villa the favourites today. Smith’s side are unbeaten in four – winning three – while Chelsea have suffered three defeats in their last four outings.

By contrast, Dean Smith makes just a single alteration to the side that began Villa’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. It is an enforced one as well with Ezri Konsa replacing the suspended Tyrone Mings in the heart of defence. Trezeguet, Wesley and Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley remain sidelined. 

After expressing his disappointment following the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, Frank Lampard makes six changes from the Boxing Day reverse. There are recalls for the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho and Callum Hudson-Odoi, while Olivier Giroud is given the nod ahead of Tammy Abraham up front.

SUBS: Tom Heaton, Neil Taylor, Bjorn Engels, Frederic Guilbert, Ahmed Elmohamady, Conor Hourihane, Marvelous Nakamba, Jacob Ramsey, Keinan Davis.

ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Kourtney Hause, Ezri Konsa, Matt Targett; Douglas Luiz, John McGinn; Bertrand Traore, Jack Grealish (captain), Anwar El Ghazi; Ollie Watkins.

SUBS: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Fikayo Tomori, Thiago Silva, Emerson, Billy Gilmour, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta (captain), Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Ben Chilwell; N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mason Mount; Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi.

It is eighth against seventh at Stamford Bridge, where a win for either side would lift them into top four.

Hello everyone and welcome to live text coverage of the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Aston Villa.

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