Chelsea Detained Draw Aston Villa At Stamford Bridge

JAKARTA - Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, London, England, Monday local time (Tuesday WIB).

Olivier Giroud's header for Chelsea was equalized by Villa through Anwar El Ghazi's volley, Antara noted on the official Premier League website.

This result makes the two teams who are now both collecting 26 points to improve their position in the standings, Villa, which has a goal difference of a surplus of 14, is in fifth position over Chelsea, which only has a surplus of 13.

It ends all square at the Bridge. # CHEAVL pic.twitter.com/H5PzyfPuvd

- Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 28, 2020

Both teams appeared open from the start, but Jack Grealish's curling shot was countered by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, while Christian Pulisic was able to break through the Villa defense. However, unfortunately failed to complete the movement with a perfect kick.

The stalemate broke in the 34th minute when Ben Chilwell sent in a cross which Giroud could finish with a sharp header at the near post to put Chelsea ahead.

Giroud has scored seven goals in five appearances as Chelsea's starting eleven this season, a positive trend for the aging French striker.

Giroud's goal at the same time ended the positive trend of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who has a zero goal record in his last four matches.

Five minutes into the second half, Villa responded well to their way back by equalizing with a sharp cross from a Matty Cash post which was completed by El Ghazi's volley to make the score 1-1.

Chelsea tried to restore their lead and came close to scoring their second goal with a Pulisic header. However, Ezri Konsa did some acrobatic action to clear the ball before crossing the goal line in the 67th minute.

If the ball goes into the net, it is highly likely that the goal will be disallowed as Pulisic was already in an offside position when Callum Hudson-Odoi sent in the cross.

Two minutes later it was Villa's turn to have a good chance when John McGinn fired a shot that Mendy couldn't reach. However, the ball hit the crossbar.

Both teams continued to strive to secure the win, including when Pulisic fired a sharp shot from the edge of the box, but Martinez made a resounding save in the 79th minute.

Opportunities passed but the score 1-1 did not change until the whistle sounded the game over forcing the two teams to settle for sharing one point.

Highlights: Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa 👇 💙 #CHEAVL pic.twitter.com/IpYmH2mQMH

- Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 28, 2020

Chelsea have the opportunity to rest longer for the next match because they only appear to host Manchester City on Sunday, January 3, two days after Villa travel to Old Trafford against Manchester United.