Many thanks for joining me for this game.
Here is Paul Doyle’s report.
Joyously, there is more football. Join Rob Smyth for the Merseyside derby.
Mary Waltz says: “All of America is jumping for joy! You have no idea how much even non Chelsea fans have their hopes pinned on this young man. As an Everton fan, stop laughing, I yelled so loud I scared my cats.”
Pulisic says he was really pleased he could help the team with a goal. That is nice.
On the goal: “I don’t think I hit it perfectly with my left but I am glad it went on target and went in.”
Chelsea were relatively slick apart from not being able to score more but that will come with more games, I guess.
Is there much hope for Villa apart from the fact there are other really bad sides at the bottom?
Full-time
Villa can count themselves lucky to have not lost by more. They were fortunate to open the scoring but were rarely in the game as Chelsea dominated from start to finish.
It is a big three points for Chelsea as they look to create distance between them and those chasing them in fourth. They looked very comfortable and in no way rusty, which is a good sign with a run-in to come.
The hosts need to score goals to stay up and do not look like doing it with this XI.
90+2 mins: Jota catches Alonso on the top of the foot, allowing a few more seconds to tick away.
90 mins: Alan Smith wants Villa to take the positives out of this game. I am not too sure there are many. They scored a goal, which is good. The rest has been quite mediocre.
Five minutes added on.
88 mins: Villa have brought on Jota, who nearly scores an equaliser with his first touch. A long ball is sent up the line, it is flicked on by Samatta, Christensen fails to control the header and it falls to the Spaniard who pulls a shot across goal which goes inches wide.
86 mins: Chelsea have had three corners in quick succession as the clock ticks away.
Maybe if there was a crowd behind Villa, roaring them on to get an equaliser, I might think they would have a chance of getting an equaliser. Instead, in an empty stadium, they seem to have no hope.
84 mins: Barkley wins Chelsea a corner off Targett. Willian finds Abraham in the box but the striker heads it well wide.
Willian then gets his own chance to shoot moments later but it flies just over after brushing Nyland’s fingertips.
Villa do not look like getting back into this.
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82 mins: Samatta has been on for 25 minutes and barely had a kick, too. Villa just not able to play at a tempo which can threaten a team like Chelsea.
80 mins: Grealish is obviously an excellent player but he has just been completely unable to get on the ball throughout, meaning Villa have been completely blunt.
Abraham replaces Giroud for Chelsea.
78 mins: Barkley wins Chelsea a corner. The set-piece is swung straight into the arms of Nyland who rolls it out to start an attack but it never gains much momentum.
76 mins: Villa just don’t seem to possess sufficient attacking intent to make an impact here.
74 mins: Chelsea are becoming increasingly happy to just knock it about. Villa must be pretty tired by now.
72 mins: Mings holds back Giroud for his own amusement. The referee contemplates it for a second but eventually gives the free-kick. It seems a slightly pointless foul from the England defender.
70 mins: Nakamba and Trezeguet come on for Hourihane and El Ghazi after the drinks break.
68 mins: VAR has a little look after Grealish is brought down just outside the box and falls into it. Hourihane whips in a lovely free-kick for the Villa players to attack, with Hause getting on the end of it but he can only flick it over.
Drinks break.
66 mins: Have Villa got a Plan B?
64 mins: Chelsea deserve to be ahead, to be honest. Villa have offered next to nothing all game. Hopefully this will at least make the hosts consider attacking.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea (Giroud, 62)
It’s turned around at Villa Park. Neat work gets the ball into the box, with Giroud given time to turn and fire a shot into the corner via a slight deflection to put Chelsea ahead.
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GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea (Pulisic, 60)
It terms out a cross from the right is the best way to score. Azpilicueta sends one into the corridor of uncertainty and it reaches the back post where Pulisic is waiting to jab home.
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59 mins: Azpilicueta sends a cross to the front post but it has a little too much on it for Giroud who slides in vain as Nyland collects.
57 mins: Pulisic is on the left, a more natural fit than Loftus-Cheek on the wing.
Samatta comes on for Davis. A tough afternoon for Davis having to chase the ball and getting no service whatsoever.
55 mins: Kante is the latest Chelsea to swing in a cross but Giroud gets underneath the ball, heading it high over the bar.
Kovacic and Loftus-Cheek depart for Barkley and Pulisic.
53 mins: Willian curls in a cross to the front post but Azpilicueta heads it well wide. Chelsea might need something more inventive than that to get an equaliser. Pulisic and Barkley are about to come on for Chelsea.
51 mins: Everyone apart from Kepa is in the Villa half. Chelsea work it down the right and Mount finds space but his cross is cleared by Targett on this occasion.
49 mins: Villa’s only touches so far have been clearances or tackles. Could be a tough second half.
Willian takes a ludicrous low corner which he hits straight to Grealish in the area. Naturally, the Villa captain gives it straight back to Chelsea.
47 mins: Chelsea start the second half as they finished the first. They work it down the right, ending with Azpilicueta winning a corner but it comes to nothing as Villa clear.
Second half
Here we go again!
I am not sure Chelsea need to change much to get back into this, seeing as they were very much on top for the entire first half. On the upside for Lampard, he has a few cracking options on the bench to mix it up.
Good to have 10 minutes of pundits discussing surprise.
Get this in your ears.
Half-time
Like with Cardiff v Leeds earlier it is the home side who have an undeserved lead. Villa have just about held firm at the back and taken their chance down the other end. Whether they can hold on is another matter.
45 mins: Chelsea have been completely and utterly dominant in the match, as the possession stats show but Villa are the ones with the lead.
In comical news, Konsa has been booked for time wasting while preparing to take a throw. Could be a long 45 minutes if these are the Villa tactics now.
Three minutes added on.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Chelsea (Hause, 43)
Douglas Luiz swings a lovely cross into the box from deep. Hause slides in to stab a shot at goal but Kepa stops it. The defender will not be thwarted a second time, getting up off the floor to steer the ball into the corner for his first Premier League goal.
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41 mins: A ball out to the left finds Alonso on the edge of the box. The Spaniard fires a shot which is well blocked and cleared to Grealish. The Villa skipper has barely had a kick so far.
39 mins: Mount leaves the Villa defence for dead on the flank and then slots a pass towards the back post which just has too much on it for Loftus-Cheek.
Hause and Giroud are having a good old battle. This could be a good lesson for the young centre-back.
*Googles Tom Holland*
@Will_Unwin just realised Mason Mount looks like a slightly older Tom Holland. Or is it just me
— Avik | অভীক (@avikpram) June 21, 2020
37 mins: Can Villa build on the momentum of creating two chances in a short space of time? They really need to avoid letting Chelsea maintain the pressure they have enjoyed for the majority of the fixture.
Chelsea have had 90% possession in the last 10 minutes ...
35 mins: Villa are now playing! El Ghazi finds space out wide to whip in a cross to the near post for McGinn to attack. The midfielder does not make perfect contact and the ball flashes wide.
Hause catches Giroud when challenging for a header, leaving the Frenchma in in pain on the turf.
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33 mins: Oh heck! Kovacic hits a low drive from 20 yards which takes a little nick off Douglas Luiz, which slows it down but adds spin, resulting in Nyland fumbling the tame effort towards his own goal-line before recovering it just in time.
Down the other end El Ghazi pummels the ball at goal, waking up Kepa, who palms it away from the bottom corner.
31 mins: Willian fires a low cross along the six-yard line but no one is there to turn it in. Mount sends another cross in moments later but Nyland meets it and punches it well clear.
It is surely a matter of time until Chelsea take the lead.
29 mins: Kante chips a lovely pass out to Azpilicueta but his powerful cross is well cleared. Chelsea are very much still on top.
Digvijay says: “On the issue of the drinks break, I think it helps the team that is being swarmed.
“I thought Spurs benefitted in both halves against United, particularly in the second when it looked like the pressure would tell sooner than later.”
27 mins: Villa haven’t touched the ball since the restart. Not that they had much involvement with it beforehand.
24 mins: Chelsea are penned inside the Villa half and the hosts are essentially just holding on. The best they can do is whack it long for poor Davis to chase but usually the ball just comes straight back.
DRINKS BREAK! I must say, purely from an MBMers point of view, these stoppages are very welcome. The fact the game stops for two minutes does not help the actually football, mind.
22 mins: The answer is yes. Mount takes possession of the ball 20 yards from goal, works it on to his left foot and whacks a drive which is superbly saved by Nyland.
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20 mins: Some patient buildup play from Chelsea ends when Mount’s cross hits Douglas Luiz. Chelsea look quite sharp but can they up the gears to really take the game to Villa?
18 mins: Grealish is willingly chasing the ball but he really needs it in his possession if Villa are to have an impact in this game. Chelsea enjoying the majority of possession.
16 mins: Chelsea break from a Villa corner through Willian who plays it to Giroud but the Frenchman does not have the pace to get away from the chasing midfielders. The striker holds it up and then tries to find Mount with a through ball but Douglas Luiz reads it and intercepts on the edge of the area. A sign, though, of how dangerous Chelsea are on the counter.
14 mins: El Ghazi chases Kovacic into the corner and then pushes the Croatian over for good measure. Bit of a pointless foul on a man three yards from his own byline.
Villa are looking well organised across midfield. Chelsea are trying to spread the play to move the hosts around without success thus far.
12 mins: Chelsea take the sting out of the game by knocking it about in order to maintain possession for a period. Not that the game was relentless beforehand.
10 mins: Willian cuts in from the right and fires a low shot at goal from the edge of the box but it is blocked before it can cause any damage.
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8 mins: Chelsea definitely look the brighter here. Giroud has had a couple of nice touches and two dangerous cross have been sent into the box. No obvious signs of rust in the Chelsea team.
6 mins: David Farrelly says with reference to fake crowd noise: “Watching the BOU v. CP game yesterday on NBC I heard the crowd chanting “C’mon Fulham.” Once you notice something like that you can’t un-notice it. Highly irritating.”
Yeah, I thought it was quite sensible two weeks ago. Now it infuriates me. I am fickle.
4 mins: Willian drives towards the box unchallenged, before laying off to Mount but his cross is cleared. Villa might want to consider closing players down far quicker than that. Willian was given all the space he wanted.
Azpilicueta swings in a cross which Loftus-Cheek gets on the end of but he heads it a long way wide.
2 mins: Davis proves himself to be an early handful, holding off Rudiger until the German eventually bundles him over 30 yards from goal. Hourihane dinks it into the box but no one makes the run and the ball bounces through to Kepa.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep!
The players have wandered slowly out onto the pitch. Good to hear the Tannoy is pumping out music and the like.
Tom Besley asks: “Do you know if Timo Werner will be able to play for Chelsea after he joins them on July 1st or will he have to wait until the next campaign to start?”
My understanding is that he cannot play until next season but I could be wrong.
Smith has named an unchanged team from their draw against Sheffield United: “I thought the performance was good against a team fighting for Europe. We restricted them to one shot on goal throughout the game.”
The Villa boss adds that he hopes his side’s experience in midweek can help them today.
Lampard explains Loftus-Cheek’s return: “He has trained brilliantly. It’s been a long injury for him. He was just getting fit before lockdown but needed games an this period has given us a chance to get him working hard.”
Ready yourself for Liverpool later ...
Do I go with crowd noise or no crowd noise? I think I am now fully a no crowd noise man.
Willian only has until Tuesday to extend his Chelsea deal for a short period but he starts today, which is a good sign for the Blues.
Lampard to sell Kante? He says not.
Chelsea having to use the media lounge as a dressing room.
A peek inside the Blues dressing room at Villa Park this afternoon! 👀#AVLCHE pic.twitter.com/WTTkbmI7D5
— Chelsea FC (at 🏡) (@ChelseaFC) June 21, 2020
Loftus-Cheek starts for Chelsea, which has surprised a few. He has worked very hard on getting fit after missing the entire campaign prior to the break through injury.
Jacob Steinberg had a big old chat with Olivier Giroud ...
Starting lineups
Aston Villa: Nyland, Konsa, Hause, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Hourihane, El Ghazi, Davis, Grealish
Subs: Reina, Elmohamady, Taylor, Nakamba, Jota, Tezeguet, Vassilev, Borja, Samatta
Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Willian, Giroud
Subs: Caballero, James, Emerson, Zouma, Gilmour, Pulisic, Abraham, Barkley, Pedro
Preamble
Good afternoon!
Chelsea restart their fight for a top-four spot with a trip to Villa Park, where the goal-line technology will be looking for an improved performance following its inability to spot the ball ending up in the back of the net in midweek.
The Blues currently occupy fourth but there are four teams looking to take it off their hands. Frank Lampard has started his summer business early, too, so the players know they need to impress to ensure their future at Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa might have a slight advantage having already played a Premier League match since the restart, so could catch Chelsea cold. Not that Villa looked great against Sheffield United.
Kick-off 4.15pm.
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