Premier League - Aston Villa hold Chelsea to draw

Chelsea’s disappointing December continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge thanks to a second-half equaliser by Anwar El Ghazi.

Olivier Giroud’s ninth career goal against Villa had given Chelsea a lead that their first-half display merited, but Villa equalised in slightly controversial circumstances as Andreas Christensen lay prone on the ground following an incident earlier in the move.

And despite chances at each end in an open final half hour, neither side were able to pick out a winner.

Frank Lampard made six changes from the team that started the loss to Arsenal on Boxing Day, and the rotation seemed to work, with the hosts playing with a verve and vigour early on that had been distinctly absent at the Emirates two days earlier.

Giroud’s opener was almost a trademark goal from the Frenchman, with his clever flick in the build-up finding Chilwell, and his low header from Chilwell’s cross picking out the bottom corner at the near post.

And Chelsea could have had more in the first half, with Pulisic missing two decent chances and Mount firing over from close range shortly before the break.

Villa threatened sporadically themselves in the first-half, with all of the positive moments coming via Jack Grealish – most notably when the Villa skipper jinked to the byline and pulled a dangerous ball back through a crowd of bodies in the box.

And Grealish was heavily involved again for El Ghazi’s equaliser, helping work the ball out to the right and drawing in the defenders to leave the goalscorer unmarked at the back post to volley between the legs of Mendy from close range.

Chelsea were left complaining about a perceived foul by Grealish on Andreas Christensen earlier in the move, with the defender still down on the ground as the ball went in, but the referee adjudged the foul to be by the Chelsea man and waved play on and there was no intervention by VAR to change the decision.

The result leaves Villa ahead of Chelsea in the table on goal difference and means Lampard’s side have taken just four points from the last five league games.

Frank Lampard mixed things up with his selection for this game, making six changes from the team that lost to Arsenal on Boxing Day and suggesting in his pre-match interview that the changes were purely down to fitness and rotation. However, following his strong condemnation of his side’s performance at the Emirates it’s not inconceivable to suggest that the Chelsea boss was sending a message to some of his big-name additions, with Kai Havertz and Timo Werner among the players left out of the starting XI.

The new-look Chelsea had plenty about them, with Pulisic and Hudson Odoi looking lively either side of the ever-involved Giroud, and the presence of Jorginho at the base of midfield freeing up Kante and Mount to get far more involved on the ball in midfield. But again it didn’t look quite right in the second half, and Christensen’s attempt to make a tactical foul on Grealish backfired badly to leave him stranded on the ground and looking in vain for a referee’s decision as the goal came from the very area he would have been marshalling had he been back on his feet.

There will have be signs in this performance to encourage Lampard, not least the lively performances of his young English players Hudson-Odoi and Mount. But Lampard will also know that a big part of his job this season is turning the summer’s mega-investment into on-pitch success, and the signs weren’t good for either Kai Havertz or Timo Werner when they came on in the second half, with both looking short on confidence and rather shoehorned into a line-up that lost cohesion following their introduction.

Scottish midfielder McGinn was up against some serious quality in the midfield battle, with Chelsea picking Kante, Mount and Jorginho in the central three. But it was the Villa man who bossed the game, disrupting Chelsea moves time and again while getting nicely involved in Villa moves himself. His ripsnorter of a shot from range that crashed back off the bar deserved better.

Chelsea: Mendy 6, Azpilicueta 6, Christensen 5, Rudiger 6, Chilwell 8, Kante 8, Jorginho 5, Mount 7, Pulisic 6, Giroud 7, Hudson-Odoi 8 Subs: Werner 6, Havertz 5.

Aston Villa: Martinez 7, Cash 6, Hause 7, Konsa 7, Targett 6, Douglas Luiz 6, McGinn 8, Traore 6, Grealish 8, El Ghazi 7, Watkins 7. Subs: Davis 6, Ramsey 7

11’ – Grealish is involved again, but this time he almost gifts Chelsea a goal, playing a blind pass across the back that picks out Pulisic in space. The American is forced slightly wide but still should score with his effort that cracks into the side-netting.

34’ GOAL! – Chelsea have the lead and it's Giroud who's got it. It will surprise nobody to hear that it's a run across the defender and a flicked header in at the near post - the trademark Giroud finish. There's a VAR check for a possible offside against Chilwell, but it's all okay (just about, very close that one). 1-0 Chelsea.

39’ – Chelsea are looking good now and work Mount into space inside the box at an angle. The midfielder should score, but he looks to lift his shot towards the top corner and gets a bit too under it, only finding the empty stands behind the goal.

50’ GOAL! – Aston Villa are level and it’s El Ghazi who’s got it. Chelsea are furious because Christensen was down after a clash with Grealish throughout the move, but they still needed to do better than leave El Ghazi completely unmarked to slot a volley through the legs of Mendy. Christensen receives treatment and is fine to continue and the referee’s decision to play advantage (suggesting he thought the foul was actually by the Chelsea defender) isn’t disagreed with by VAR.

68’ – What a hit that is! McGinn lets fly from range with an absolute piledriver that slams against the crossbar. That would have been a screamer but Chelsea survive.

93’ – Chilwell hits an absolute screamer of a volley from a long floated cross right across the face of goal. That would have been a goal fitting of winning any game… but it slid agonisingly wide from the Chelsea full-back.

Ben Chilwell has equalled his season-best tally of four assists, already having as many goal contributions (2 goals and 4 assists) as he did in the whole of the last campaign.

Since his Premier League debut in 2012 Olivier Giroud has scored more headed goals (32) than any other player.

Giroud has scored in each of his last seven Premier League games against Villa and his nine career goals against Villa in the Premier League are more than he has scored against any other side.

El Ghazi’s goal was his fifth in five appearances and he’s the first Villa player to score in three or more successive games in the Premier League since Tom Cleverley in 2015.