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. (More Football News)
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.바카라 웹사이트
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 the바카라 웹사이트Villans바카라 웹사이트in the Premier League for the Frenchman.바카라 웹사이트
But Anwar El바카라 웹사이트Ghazi levelled with his fifth goal in as many games in the 50th minute and that proved decisive, while Chelsea바카라 웹사이트were바카라 웹사이트fortunate 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.바카라 웹사이트
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 inviting바카라 웹사이트delivery.바카라 웹사이트
Villa levelled early in the second half바카라 웹사이트when바카라 웹사이트Matty Cash's cross found El바카라 웹사이트Ghazi at the back post,바카라 웹사이트and he steered home through the legs of Mendy, who probably should have done better.바카라 웹사이트
Chelsea's reaction was hardly emphatic and Villa went바카라 웹사이트agonisingly바카라 웹사이트close to a spectacular second, the ball breaking kindly for McGinn 30 yards from goal and his fierce effort cannoned off the bar.바카라 웹사이트
Lampard introduced the much-maligned Werner and Kai바카라 웹사이트Havertz바카라 웹사이트towards 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 continue바카라 웹사이트
Lampard's hopes of mounting a credible title challenge are seemingly diminishing by the day바카라 웹사이트– they could be nine points adrift of the summit by the time they next play.바카라 웹사이트
To make matters worse, they have played more games than바카라 웹사이트most teams around them and are showing few바카라 웹사이트signs of improvement, with those big-money바카라 웹사이트additions of Werner and바카라 웹사이트Havertz바카라 웹사이트still nowhere near the expected level.바카라 웹사이트
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.바카라 웹사이트
Cash is on the money바카라 웹사이트
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 his바카라 웹사이트total of바카라 웹사이트five clearances was bettered only바카라 웹사이트by바카라 웹사이트Kortney Hause.바카라 웹사이트
Pulisic fails to inspire바카라 웹사이트
He was lively enough on the left flank and worked hard, his 10.8바카라 웹사이트kilometres바카라 웹사이트covered second only to바카라 웹사이트N'Golo바카라 웹사이트Kante, but Pulisic just was not effective바카라 웹사이트enough during바카라 웹사이트proceedings. He should have done better with his early chances and he otherwise failed to produce a single key pass.바카라 웹사이트바카라 웹사이트
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).
-바카라 웹사이트Chilwell바카라 웹사이트equalled바카라 웹사이트his 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?바카라 웹사이트
Chelsea바카라 웹사이트have바카라 웹사이트a 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.바카라 웹사이트
