Aston Villa vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the fallout from Villa Park
Follow all the action as Aston Villa host Chelsea in the Premier League this Boxing Day.
Steven Gerrard will be forced to watch from afar after Aston Villa’s head coach tested positive for Covid-19. Villa will hope his absence doesn’t detract from their momentum, having won four of their six games since Gerrard took charge, with their only two defeats coming against Manchester City and Liverpool. That upturn in form has seen Villa return to the top half of the table and they will hope to take advantage of Chelsea’s recent inconsistency this afternoon.
After such a brilliant start to the season, Thomas Tuchel’s side have faltered in recent weeks due to a combination of attacking absences and wasteful finishing. Back-to-back draws against Everton and Wolves have left the Blues six points adrift of Manchester City in the title race, although a 2-0 victory over Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals helped to regain some of their momentum. Follow all the latest updates below:
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Half-time: Aston Villa 1 - 1 Chelsea
45+1 mins: It’s been an intriguing first 45 minutes. Chelsea have had more possession but they’ve been unable to threaten Emi Martinez from open play.
Aston Villa have been dangerous on the counter-attack and earned themselves a goal after Reece James headed one past his own goalkeeper. That lead lasted just six minutes though as Matty Cash brought Callum Hudson-Odoi down in his own penalty area and Jorginho slotted home the spot kick.
The team’s head into the break on level terms with all three results still up for grabs.
Aston Villa 1 - 1 Chelsea
42 mins: Alonso comes forward again for Chelsea and flicks a low cross over towards the back post. Mason Mount is arriving in the box but Targett nips in from of him and prods the ball out behind before running into the post. Chelsea think they’ve won a corner but the offside flag goes up against Alonso and Villa are awarded a goal kick.
Aston Villa 1 - 1 Chelsea
39 mins: Jorginho gives the ball away to Sanson who sprints forward on the counter-attack. He drives into the vacant space on the right side before slotting the ball back into the middle towards Watkins. Mendy reads the play and comes flying out of his area, narrowly beats Watkins to the ball and boots it out of play.
Aston Villa 1 - 1 Chelsea
37 mins: Matty Cash launches a throw in down the right wing and picks out Buendia. He knocks the ball past Rudiger but can’t get around the Chelsea defender who beats him to the ball and sends it back to Mendy.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1 - 1 Chelsea (Jorginho, 34’)⚽️
34 mins: Jorginho converts from the spot. He shimmies up to the ball and hits it straight down the middle as Martinez leaps across to his left. Chelsea are level again!
Penalty to Chelsea!
Aston Villa 1 - 0 Chelsea
Marcos Alonso brings the ball down the left wing and slides a short pass into the box for Callum Hudson-Odoi. Matty Cash keeps his eye on the ball and lunges at it as it comes by. Hudson-Odoi beats him to it though and Cash clatters into the Chelsea forward bringing him down. Easy decision for the referee.
Aston Villa 1 - 0 Chelsea
31 mins: Chelsea are behind again. They’ve only kept one clean sheet in seven Premier League games. Can Aston Villa hold on to their lead?
GOAL! Aston Villa 1 - 0 Chelsea (James OG, 28’)⚽️
28 mins: Villa take the lead! It wasn’t how they planned it but the home side will take it. Watkins feeds the ball up to Ramsey on the counter-attack and he knocks it across to Ings. Ings passes it to Cash who swings a cross into the box. Chelsea head the ball over to Ramsey on the left side of the pitch and he lays it off to Targett. Targett fires a sharp cross into the box and Reece James jumps to clear it. It glances off his head, flies over Mendy in goal and lands in the back of the net!
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Chelsea
26 mins: Chance! Mason Mount gets the travelling fans something to cheer about as he receives the ball on the left wing. He rolls it inside and curls a right-footed effort towards the far top corner. Emi Martinez looks a little nervous about the shot but pulls his hand away at the last minute and the ball bounces on top of the crossbar and goes behind.
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Chelsea
24 mins: Sanson plays the ball inside from the right and Villa work it up to Ramsey running his way across the pitch. He’s caught by Mason Mount who shoves him off the ball and comes away with possession. Ramsey goes down but the referee has a good sight of the tackle and is fine for Chelsea to continue.
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