Premier League Roundup: Chelsea unable to break Aston Villa’s unbeaten run; Leicester earn late draw at Crystal Palace

Anwar El Ghazi continued his fine goalscoring form as his equaliser earned Aston Villa a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge condemning the Blues to end the year with just one win in 5 games.

Olivier Giroud scored his 10th goal in 10 games against Villa to put Chelsea in front, his eight in eight for Chelsea this term, after connecting to a cross from Ben Chilwell.

However, El Ghazi placed a finish through the legs of Edouard Mendy from Matty Cash’s cross to pull the Villains back, with the hosts angered by a foul on Andreas Christensen in the build-up and a handball from Matt Targett.

Both sides tried all they could to win it but a draw seemed the likely outcome as John McGinn struck the bar with a brilliant long-range effort while sub Jacob Ramsey curled inches wide. Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic was denied by Emi Martinez while Chilwell lashed a beautiful volley just wide in stoppage time.

The result means Villa move up to fifth, six points off leaders Liverpool with a game in hand, while Chelsea go sixth on the same points, but having played two games more than Villa.

Watch the highlights of the match below

Manager reactions

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said: “I was pleased, I’m not disappointed with anything tonight other than the fact we conceded that goal, and didn’t score another.

“I think there was a handball, and the fourth official was very close to us, I’m not sure (why) it wasn’t given, it should have been handball.

“I haven’t seen the Christensen-Grealish incident. I didn’t think there was much in it at the time, I’m not sure it was a foul or not. I haven’t reviewed that referee-wise.”

Dean Smith of Aston Villa said: “I’m pleased with the point, it’s a really good point. This is a tough place to come, they’ve rotated what is a really strong squad.

“There were spells from both teams in the game, we started better, they came into it, we had to weather the storm after they scored. We found a really good balance again between defending and attacking. The energy levels of my players was incredible seeing as we only played 48 hours ago.”

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Chelsea have lost just one of their last 14 Premier League home games (W10 D3), with that lone defeat coming against Liverpool earlier this season.
• Since losing at Liverpool in July, Aston Villa have only suffered one defeat in their last nine away games in the Premier League (W5 D3).
• Since his Premier League debut in August 2012, Olivier Giroud has scored more headed goals than any other player in the competition (32).
• Ben Chilwell equalled his Premier League season-best tally of four assists, with the Chelsea defender having as many goal involvements in this campaign as 2019/20 (6 – 2 goals, 4 assists).

Crystal Palace 1-1 Leicester: Harvey Barnes earns another late Foxes draw

Harvey Barnes’s goal for Leicester against Crystal Palace did not only earn them a vital point, but it sent them second in the Premier League after a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.

Leicester had also left it late to grab a point against Manchester United on Boxing Day, but their trip to Selhurst Park did not start out too well after Kelechi Iheanacho had a penalty saved by Vicente Guaita in the first-half.

Palace however after their losses to Liverpool and Aston Villa over Christmas didn’t show positive signs in the first half but scored with their only shot on target in the second through Wilfried Zaha after a wonderful counter-attack as Palace looked to end their four-match winless run.

But Leicester found their spark in a lacklustre second-half showing as Barnes sent a low shot home to once again secure a late point.

Watch the highlights of the match below

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Crystal Palace haven’t won their final league game in any of the last nine calendar years (D7 L2), last doing so against Millwall in the Championship in 2011 (1-0).
• Leicester City have lost just one of their eight away Premier League games in 2020-21 (W6 D1), after losing five and drawing three of their final eight games on the road last season.
• Crystal Palace have kept just one clean sheet in their last 24 Premier League games, conceding in each of their last 15 in the competition since beating Southampton 1-0 on the opening day.