Chelsea’s only goal was scored by Olivier Giroud during the first half while Aston Villa’s, Anwar El-Ghazi scored the equalizer five minutes into the game’s second half. The 3-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium saw an immediate response from the coach as he made six changes to his first XI.
Although Lampard gave a reason for the congested schedule to make the changes, this set of players were more energetic than those that played against Arsenal.
French striker, Olivier Giroud started the game and it took him only 34 minutes to find the net. Christian Pulisic and Ben Chilwell’s combination provided a cross to Giroud, who’s heading effort saw the ball going into the goal.
But the 1-0 lead didn’t last long as El Ghazi volleyed the ball to make it 1-1 on 50 minutes. Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta’s goal was ruled offside on 66 minutes when VAR checked the run of Pulisic.
The Blues escaped a late scare when John McGinn’s powerful long-ranger hit the crossbar with a powerful long-ranger from a 30-yard distance. Aston Villa with a draw remained above Chelsea in the sixth position while the Blues just below them.
