Premier League: Aston Villa v Chelsea full time report
Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 0
Aston Villa and Chelsea played out a goalless draw at Villa Park in the Premier League’s late kick-off.
Chelsea kept a lot of the ball, but it will be Villa who will be thinking long and hard tonight about how they didn’t get the win against the champions.
Villa could have taken the lead inside two minutes, as Stephen Ireland hit a shot wide of the target when in all fairness he should have scored his first goal for the club.
Both sides hit the woodwork. Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka for Chelsea, while Ciaran Clark’s header beat Chelsea ‘keeper Petr Cech but didn’t beat the upright.
At the end, Nigel Reo-Coker should have hit the target and taken all three points for Villa, but like Ireland, his finishing let him down.
Chelsea lacked a spark and without the injured Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard failed to put Villa under a lot of pressure.
The first half belonged to Villa, as Ireland should have given his side the lead after only two minutes of play. A quick counter attack resulted in Ireland with the goal to aim at, but it was a poor finish from Ireland.
Carew a couple of minutes later forced a fine save from Cech to tip the ball around the post after his shot skimmed across the surface. Carew opened up his body and Cech got his fingers to the ball, making the kind of save we come to expect of the top-class ‘keeper.
Richard Dunne came off for Villa after he made a crunching challenge on Ashley Cole, but after the home side made such an encouraging start, it didn’t affect them at all.
Gaël Kakuta, starting for the injured Drogba, hit a shot over the bar on the half volley on 16 minutes for Chelsea. Chelsea’s best chance came from the in-form Essien. His shot was straight at Villa ‘keeper Brad Friedel, and it was the only effort the American had to deal with. Only one shot on target from the champions was not a good showing, and at half time manager Carlo Ancelotti would have given some harsh words to his players.
Chelsea were intent on starting the second half well, and two minutes into it Malouda fizzed a shot which stung the palms of Friedel.
Friedel was called into action again this time from Anelka. The Frenchman took the ball down well from a long pass, and he managed to shift the ball into his right foot and get his shot in, with Friedel making the save at his near post with his legs.
After an hour’s play, Chelsea kept more possession of the ball, with Villa unable to get out of their own half. Essien fired another shot straight at Friedel, and although some shots were coming, Villa looked resolute and secure at the back.
Anelka would have fancied himself to have hit the target on 67 minutes when he cut infield from the right flank, but on his weaker left-foot, the shot didn’t trouble Friedel. Instead it troubled the crowd in row z.
Villa approached the second half with some caution and were looking to spring a counter attack on Chelsea at any opportunity.
Ivanovic’s header smashed the post on 76 minutes from Malouda’s corner as Chelsea began to put more pressure on Villa.
The post denied Chelsea on one side and it also denied Villa at the other end, as Ciaran Clark’s header from Ashley Young’s in-swinging free kick struck the upright and out of Cech’s reach.
The upright once again denied Chelsea, with Anelka heading the ball into the ground but not going into the net a few minutes before the end of the match.
Reo-Coker’s chance in stoppage time was a glorious one, but his clipped effort when one-on-one with Cech went wide.
Chelsea remain at the top of the Premier League, five points clear of Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham, but if City beat Blackpool tomorrow, the gap will be reduced.
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