Villa 2-2 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened
Conor Gallagher salvaged a point for Chelsea late on, though the visitors were left to rue a late
Ben Fisher’s match report is in, which is my cue to slope off. Thanks for your company, correspondence and chortling at the Guardian’s spelling mistakes. The MBM will be back tomorrow with two games in the WSL and two in the PL, including the north London derby.
Conor Gallagher’s stunning strike salvages draw for Chelsea at
And the consequence is … Villa stay fourth, as they were always going to. They could have been nine points up on Spurs but have to settle for seven: Villa 67 from 35 games, Spurs 60 from 32.
Chelsea stay ninth with 48 points from 33 games, but they should end up eighth. They’re only just behind West Ham, who have 49 points from 35 games after they too drew 2-2 today, with
Here’s Conor Gallagher. “We’re gutted, really,” he says. “Poor first half, but lethargic. The gaffer, long story short, just told us to liven up and work harder. Second half was much better, we showed great character. The goal at the end should have counted, not my decision. Very happy with the goal, absolute swinger.”
Updated at 17.08 EDT
Two goals per side, and two quite different halves. Villa controlled the first without having much of the ball. Chelsea bossed the second, while still allowing the odd chance, and they had a goal disallowed in each half. It could easily have been 4-4.
FULL TIME! Villa 2-2 Chelsea
And that’s
90+9 min Chance for Villa! Duran, with a header from a corner – over the bar.
90+9 min Before that, Palmer had a big chance – he picked Villa’s pocket as they played out from the back, worked the space well, but his shot was saved by Olsen.
DISALLOWED! Villa 2-2 Chelsea
The ref goes to the monitor and chalks the goal off.
Hang on!
The ball came back in after a corner, and Disasi was alert and got the header in off the underside of the bar. But there had been a shove in the back in the build-up…
Updated at 19.23 EDT
GOALL!!!! Villa 2-3 Chelsea (Disasi 90+5)
They’ve done it!
Disasi celebrates scoring. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images Craig Pawson watches a VAR Review which concludes that a foul took place in the build up. P
90+2 min Gallagher and Palmer, the brains trust of this young Chelsea team, stand over a free kick. Gallagher takes it, then has a follow-up shot blocked. Palmer picks the ball up on the left wing but can’t do much with it.
90+1 min There will be at least six more minutes. Plenty of time for a wi
90 min At last, a Chelsea sub, in fact two. Thiago Silva off, limping; Disasi on. Casadei also on, for Mudryk I think.
89 min Not long ago I was noting that it was 11-5 to Chelsea on shots. Now it’s 1
88 min Big chance for Villa! A cross comes in from the right to the penalty spot, where Watkins has plenty of time to get the shot away – and he blasts it over the bar.
Watkins shoots at go
87 min McGinn breaks away with the ball, though without anyone to pass to. Thiago Silva helps him out by fouling him and picks up a yellow card.
Updated at 16.51 EDT
86 min Villa almost escape, but then Chelsea surround the ball and win it back. They now have a corner.
Updated at 16.50 EDT
83 min Another Villa sub: Duran comes on to replace Diaby, who has now been subbed on and off in the same game. In terms of subs, this game is not so close: Villa 4, Chelsea 0.
Updated at 16.49 EDT
82 min Villa may have a back five but none of them got stuck into Gallagher. He danced along the edge of the box, thought he might as well shoot, and hit the ball beautifully – left foot, top bin. He was helped by a good little run off the ball from someone, Palmer I suspect.
Updated at 16.47 EDT
GOAL!!! Villa 2-2 Chelsea (Gallagher 81)
This is a peach.
Gallagher scores Chelsea’s second goal. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/ReutersGallagher celebrates after scoring. Photograph: Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 16.59 EDT
79 min Jackson, slipped in by Madueke, blows a good position with a heavy first touch.
Updated at 16.44 EDT
77 min Villa seem to have switched to a back five, but Chelsea are still looking dangerous. They pile forward again and Cucurella tees up Palmer, whose shot from the D is just wide.
Updated at 16.42 EDT
74 min Villa waste a corner. Time for some subs from Unai Emery: Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz off, Tim Iroegbunam and Diego Carlos on.
Updated at 16.40 EDT
73 min Then Villa get upfield, with Watkins almost getting the chance he has been waiting for – but the ball refuses to fall kindly for him.
Updated at 16.38 EDT
71 min Another chance for Madueke! Caicedo, nixing fire with finesse, pulls off a fine sliding tackle and then plays a dink through to Madueke, whose left-foot poke is batted away by Olsen.
Updated at 16.37 EDT
67 min Villa could do with a lull and they get one as Digne needs some treatment. “It’s chalk and cheese, it really is,” says Joe Cole about Chelsea in this half, as compared with the first. “They’ve started on absolute fire.”
Updated at 16.33 EDT
66 min Bailey goes into the boxok for stepping on Caicedo’s foot. Another free kick to Chelsea.
Updated at 16.30 EDT
65 min Palmer hits a skimmer, wide of Olsen’s left-hand post. The crowd are getting agitated and they’re right to be.
Updated at 16.30 EDT
65 min And now Madueke charges forward and wins a free kick in the D.
Updated at 16.29 EDT
63 min The goal was made by Gallagher, with his buzzy pressing. He slipped in Madueke, who found the precision Chelsea had been lacking and steered a low shot into the far corner with his left foot as if his name was Cole.
Updated at 16.28 EDT
GOAL! Villa 2-1 Chelsea (Madueke 63)
Back in it!
Gallagher makes space for Madueke who slots into the corner. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/ReutersMadueke celebrates scoring. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
Updated at 16.41 EDT
62 min Gallagher tests Olsen with a chipped cross. He comes and gets it, bravely, but then …
Updated at 16.26 EDT
61 min Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Not just yet, but Palmer is getting on the ball more.
Updated at 16.25 EDT
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