Aston Villa were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea on Saturday night, as we surrendered a two-goal lead in what could prove to be a decisive result for our season.
An early Marc Cucurella own goal saw us make an excellent start to the game before Morgan Rogers doubled our lead in the first half, but the warning signs were there as we struggled to maintain possession.
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Villa’s performance became increasingly passive, sloppy and lacking in energy and intensity as the second half played out, and that in turn opened the door for Chelsea to launch a comeback, with the visitors also finding the back of the net in injury time only for it to be ruled out for a foul.
While it will hopefully prove to be an important point gained in the end rather than two dropped, it’s a disappointing outcome from a Villa perspective as having already suffered in similar scenarios this season, most notably at home against Brentford, our inability to kill these games off and drop points is still an ongoing issue.
Aston Villa player ratings vs Chelsea:
Emiliano Martinez, 6 – Was alert throughout the first half when needed, but he emerged as an injury concern moving forward having been replaced at half-time with a hamstring problem. Hopefully it isn’t serious.
Matty Cash, 7 – Defended diligently throughout as he kept Chelsea contained down that side of the pitch. Provided the pass for Rogers to set up his goal, and he should have had another assist with Watkins blazing a late effort over the bar.
Ezri Konsa, 6.5 – Composed in possession and strong in his challenges, it was a solid shift from the centre-half who switched across to right-back seamlessly in the latter stages.
Pau Torres, 6.5 – Similar to Konsa in that he stuck to his defensive duties well to snuff out danger on various occasions, while continuing to be important in our build-up play out from the back.
Lucas Digne, 6 – Struggled to deal with Madueke’s turn of pace and directness throughout, and that was an area Chelsea targeted. Did well in the lead up to our first goal, but defensively, not his best outing.
Leon Bailey, 6.5 – Continues to look electric when he gets on the ball. Always looks capable of being a spark for us, but the issue was around him in terms of lack of control and possession to give him the foundation to go on and do more damage.
John McGinn, 6 – Switched from a more advanced role into a deeper midfield position after the Tielemans injury. Tried to give us a foothold in the game with his energy and driving runs forward, but we couldn’t keep possession for long enough to control proceedings and build sustained pressure of our own.
Douglas Luiz, 5.5 – Poor in the lead up to Chelsea’s opener as he gave the ball away on the edge of our own box, and he didn’t look sharp enough for the most part as he struggled to control and dictate in midfield like he is capable of doing. A disappointing return to the starting XI after his suspension.
Morgan Rogers, 7 – Brilliant finish for his goal as his fine form continues, and he always looks an impressive and important cog in our system and how we want to play. Hopefully he continues to go from strength to strength in the remaining games having established himself as a key figure in our starting line-up.
Youri Tielemans, N/A – A disappointing setback to see him go off injured, and hopefully it isn’t as serious as his initial reaction suggested as he beat the ground in frustration knowing that he could miss time.
Ollie Watkins, 6 – Worked tirelessly to try and get on the end of long balls up as it was a clear tactic to try and get him 1v1 against Thiago Silva on the counter. However, couldn’t make much stick and was left isolated for long periods, before he then hit a big chance over the bar late on.
Substitutions
Moussa Diaby, 5.5 – Couldn’t really do much to impact the game in a decisive way as we didn’t keep the ball well or long enough, and was replaced himself late on as Emery looked for a different solution to our problems.
Robin Olsen, 7 – An absolutely huge save to deny Palmer in the latter stages and secured our point. Made another good stop to prevent Madueke from getting a brace, and he’ll be important now with Martinez suspended on Thursday, but hopefully not injured for a prolonged period.
Diego Carlos, 5 – Looked really shaky after coming on. Almost gifted Chelsea the winner by giving away possession for Palmer’s chance, before VAR went in his favour for what was a foul after he looked to have been brushed off too easily at first glance.
Tim Iroegbunam, 5.5 – Added physicality and presence in midfield to win challenges and protect the backline, but he didn’t close Gallagher down quickly enough for his goal, with the Chelsea midfielder having far too much time and space to pick his spot.
Jhon Duran, N/A