Ratings & Reactions: Chelsea v Villa

[Lochheads twin]

A hard fought draw and a great point. There is definitely something about this group of players and how they are bonding.

It's nice to have some confidence in a Villa team and be able to relax when we play the so called "top sides". You could see that one or two players  had lost a little bit of their sharpness due to the quick turnaround since the last game. That said, with a little bit of luck, SJM or young Ramsey could have nicked it.

A word of credit to the referee. He set out the parameters for the players early on and managed the game in a fair and consistent manner.

Onwards. Now for the one we all want to win! UTV

[Thug]

51 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

How did Jorginho cost £50m?

We matched Chelsea across the pitch, all the more amazing given the 48-hour turnaround.

Havertz £80m?

By these yardsticks McGinn £1.25 Trillion?

[maqroll]

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

Giroud could be 80 years old and still find a way to score against us.

Can't stand him.

I know. I can't stand the sight of him.

[KenjiOgiwara]

Good point. Pretty shite performance where both teams looked leggy. Even if Chelsea rotated heavily.

Not impressed by Traore's tracking back for their goal, but overall he had as good a match as anyone else.

We got caught a few times with naive passing though, so I'm well happy with 1 point. Chelsea best team today.

Edited December 28, 2020 by KenjiOgiwara

[chrisvilla4]

1 hour ago, Robtaylor200 said:

Have to start believing we are one of the big bots again

 

That you Mcginn?

[Teale's 'tache]

Good result, enjoyed the game, special mention to the battle of the #7's, McGinn vs Kante. Sensational battle between the pair of them all game long, both fight for their team in the right spirit, plenty of respect for each other, both absolutely none-stop, just made for great viewing. It's the kind of thing you don't see too often as the referees are often too picky, so kudos to Atwell as well for letting them go at it.

We do look a really good team at the moment, night and day from last season.

[jayEm]

I don't have anything insightful to add, but I will say that watching us today, even though we didn't win, I felt more like I was watching a team that belonged up there with Chelsea and the other big 4 / 6 than I have in a long, long time.

No drawbacks, no deadwood, no liabilities -- you feel like this Villa squad is the real thing.

[PaulTheVillan]

4 minutes ago, Teale's 'tache said:

Good result, enjoyed the game, special mention to the battle of the #7's, McGinn vs Kante. Sensational battle between the pair of them all game long, both fight for their team in the right spirit, plenty of respect for each other, both absolutely none-stop, just made for great viewing. It's the kind of thing you don't see too often as the referees are often too picky, so kudos to Atwell as well for letting them go at it.

We do look a really good team at the moment, night and day from last season.

If that was Spurs and José you know everyone would be saying it was the perfect away draw 

[swollef]

20 minutes ago, maqroll said:

I know. I can't stand the sight of him.

 

[Zhan_Zhuang]

Grinded out and battled well for the point in a match that could have gone either way.

Considering their (Chelsea) depth of squad and money spent per player a point is a good result, the fact is we could have won that match which again is testament to the progress Villa have made under Smith.

McGinn by far MOTM, energy levels are high and he's at his best it seems. Unlucky not to score with a great effort. Hopefully he can have a nice rest for a couple of days.

El Ghazi I noticed getting some online abuse again (not here), but I thought he was solid. Always keen to pick the ball up and advance, he also battled and defended well.

Thought Traore was lively again although was asleep for their goal unfortunately but he improved his defensive work in the second half.

Tough game for Watkins but he fought well.

Cash again was outstanding for me, he again has high energy levels.

And Konsa and Hause did well too.

Targett was very good defensively and snuffed out a few dangerous moments from Hudson-Odoi.

Must admit I do dislike Giroud and Lambert, they seem so entitled. I guess it's what happens when you spend all that money.

I also though Chelsea were quite dirty tonight in trying to stop Villa and I was surprised to see this.

UTV

 

[swollef]

Just now, swollef said:

 

Spoiler

Just now, swollef said:

 

 

 

[smg]

1 hour ago, vreitti said:

A brilliant point. We were tired and it showed. My only qualm is Smith's hesitancy to make changes. Everyone knows the bench is shit, but they are still professional football players. 

Were they really tired or did we expect them to be tired ? They are supremely fit and very focussed I think we should be enthusing over their fitness and commitment to achieve a result, the manager knows them better than anyone of us and therefore we as  supporters have to trust him to make decisions, the bench is not shit , shown by the fact we have seen El Ghazi, Hause, Elmo and to lesser extent Ramsey step in when required and not put a foot wrong. Yes in the long term we have to work towards the type of bench Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City/ Utd can put out but at the moment we are doing better than anyone would have thought.

[Kingman]

Not many teams will come away from Stamford Bridge a bit peeved with a point. 

Thought we could of come away with 3 in the end, Still can't complain. How things have changed. 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Kingman

[KentVillan]

30 minutes ago, maqroll said:

I know. I can't stand the sight of him.

That's Rylan Clark

[smg]

1 hour ago, The_Steve said:

I just hope Frank cheers himself up by drunkenly mocking, vomiting, and stripping off in front of the families of 9/11 victims again.

Pathetic

[PaulTheVillan]

11 minutes ago, smg said:

Pathetic

Did he actually do that?

[HKP90]

1 minute ago, PaulTheVillan said:

Did he actually do that?

Good question. I do not recall that. Anyone?

[darrenm]

Make no mistake, that's a really good point for Lampard.

The form team in Aston Villa are coming to Stamford Bridge after his players lethargically lost to Arsenal (hardly the most dynamic team) and he knows his players are going to get chased, harried, bullied, run at and pulled apart all game.

So he does everything he can to stop the Aston Villa juggernaut by replacing half of his team with fresh but - due to Chelsea's squad depth - no worse in quality players because he knows Villa have a razor thin squad and that will redress the balance slightly and then he has to put a rocket up them to prepare for the initial onslaught and then go toe to toe hoping their freshness will tell.

He just about got away with it. Villa were slightly off the pace and Chelsea managed to get behind a few times. That it was a fairly even game with a tired Villa side v a mostly fresh Chelsea side shows how far Villa have come in a short time. 

With a few days rest, and Mings and Barkley back, Man United will not be looking forward to meeting Villa on Friday.

[smg]

6 minutes ago, PaulTheVillan said:

Did he actually do that?

Apparently but no relevance here.

[Davkaus]

10 minutes ago, PaulTheVillan said:

Did he actually do that?

 

8 minutes ago, HKP90 said:

Good question. I do not recall that. Anyone?

He certainly got pissed and made a huge scene, he denies the mocking though, and I think it's safe to say he's grown up an awful lot since then.

Nothing quite on that level, but I can certainly think of a few things I did when I was 20 I wouldn't want to be judged by decades later.

It's worth noting he was joined in his behaviour by a few of his teammates, including our very own John Terry.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Davkaus