Saturday March 31, 2012 Day 31 Finished Villa Park

Aston Villa 2 - 4 Chelsea

  • Collins 77’
  • Lichaj 80’
  • Sturridge 9’
  • Ivanovic 51’, 83’
  • Torres 90’

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  1. Torres ends goal drought to halt Villa fightback

    Torres ends goal drought to halt Villa fightback

    Fernando Torres hit his first Premier League goal in six months to seal a 4-2 victory for Chelsea at Aston Villa. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Aston Villa
    • Chelsea
    • - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with every Premier League game, from 00:01 on Monday morning (UK only).
    • FULL TIME: Aston Villa 2-4 Chelsea.
    • 90+3' That's the Spaniard's first Premier League goal in six months and gives Chelsea the points.
    • 90+2' GOAL Chelsea! And this time Torres does get on the sheet. A great pass from Sturridge finds him and he slides it past Given.
    • 90+1' Given bombs one into the box but Chelsea clear and counter.
    • 90' There will be four added minutes here. Chelsea win a corner.
    • 88' Albrighton crosses but it's just too high for Collins. Chelsea clear the danger.
    • 86' End to end stuff here as Villa try to wrest back the initiative. Breathless stuff.
    • 84' GOAL! The Villa revival has been nipped in the bud and it's Ivanovic again! Torres flicks on the corner and the ball practically hits his head before going in.
    • 83' Villa sub: Heskey on for Weimann.
    • 82' Villa are really going for it now and Agbonlahor is furious to have been penalised for fouling John Terry.
    • 81' GOAL Aston Villla! Unbelievably it's 2-2. Albrighton ghosts past John Terry before crossing ito the far post and Lichaj slides in to poke the ball home! Amazing stuff!
    • 78' GOAL Aston Villa! It's James Collins to head home unmarked from a long throw. Game on.
    • 72' Chelsea content to keep ball now, playing patient football. They don't need to do anything silly now.
    • 70' Villa sub: Albrighton on for Herd.
    • 69' Agbonlahor wins an attacking throw as Cahill loses a boot making the challenge.
    • 68' Villa looking ready to make a change. Probably about time.
    • 66' Baker easily dispossesses Torres. It's not been the Spaniard's day.
    • 65' A definite lack of urgency from Villa this half. What have they got to lose now?
    • 64' Ashley Cole tries to engineer a cross down the left but it's out for a goal kick.
    • 63' Lampard's corner is cleared by Collins. It's all Chelsea this half and they're cruising now.
    • 62' Mata again caught, this time by Herd. Another free kick.
    • 61' Free kick Chelsea for a foul on Mata by Lichaj.
    • 60' Lichaj shepherds the ball out for a goal kick under pressure from Sturridge and much to the annoyance of the Chelsea man.
    • 59' Mata free kick flashes a few yards over Given's bar.
    • 58' Chelsea sub: Ramires for Kalou.
    • 57' Warnock booked for a nasty looking sliding challenge on Terry. No contact though.
    • 56' Chelsea with 55% of possession. That's a good stat for them away from home.
    • 55' Warnock does well to draw the foul from Mata. It's out for a Chelsea goal kick.
    • 54' Di Matteo may consider some changes soon with the Benfica game looming. Chelsea win a throw.
    • 52' It looked as if the ball came off Baker's arm before falling to Ivanovic for the goal. A little justice perhaps.
    • 51' Pity for Villa as they had made the brighter start to the second half. Uphill task now.
    • 50' GOAL Chelsea! The corner falls kindly to Ivanovic who stabs it into the roof of the net.
    • 49' Cole forges into the box and Collins concedes a corner.
    • 48' Good defensive clearance from Terry with Weimann lurking behind him. Cech claims the long throw.
    • 47' Gardner makes a nuisance of himself in the box but Chelsea scramble it clear.
    • 46' A cagey opening, Villa play it all the way back to Given. They know they must threaten more in this half.
    • We're back underway here at Villa Park.
    • HALF TIME: Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea
    • 45+1' Agbonlahor beats Cahill for pace and flashes a cross across the face of goal. Nobody there.
    • 45' Chelsea sub: Luiz off for Cahill.
    • 44' Agbonlahor looks for Weimann and Ivanovic heads clear for a corner. The header goes over.
    • 43' That could so easily have been 1-1 against the run of play. Villa must believe they can get something now.
    • 42' Villa win a free kick after a foul by Lampard. Ivanovic easily clears the danger but it falls to Agbonlahor who rifles a shot at goal. Cech saves brilliantly with his trailing leg after he fell the wrong way.
    • 41' Poor ball from Sturridge looking for Torres drifts harmlessly out for a goal kick.
    • 40' Salomon Kalou flagged offside.
    • 38' Lampard tries an optimistic shot but Gardner closes him down immediately to block the attempt.
    • 37' Villa hanging in gamely but they are yet to engineer a clear cut chance.
    • 36' Sturridge whips in a dangerous looking cross but nobody gambles and Given collects.
    • 35' Mata tries to feed Torres. The Spaniard could easily have reached it and pulled the trigger but inexplicably left it because he thought there was someone behind him!
    • 34' Sturridge breaks free and runs at the Villa defence. He goes it alone and his shot is saved low down by Given.
    • 33' A quiet atmosphere in the stadium at the moment. Strange as Villa are still very much in this.
    • 32' It's a poor corner that goes straight out and gifts Chelsea a goal kick.
    • 31' Villa come forward and Luiz concedes a corner.
    • 30' Chelsea deservedly ahead here but news just in that Sunderland have gone ahead at Man City.
    • 29' Torres can't keep it in down the right and Villa have the throw.
    • 28' Patient stuff from Chelsea now. It goes all the way back to Cech and they build again.
    • 27' Lampard finds Kalou who plays it wide to Cole. Villa concede a corner but clear the danger.
    • 26' Gardner concedes a foul for a shove as the ball is played in and the chance is lost.
    • 25' Mikel gives away a dangerous free kick for a block on Ireland.
    • 23' Chelsea could easily be 2-0 up here. Villa must regroup quickly.
    • 22' Great chance from Chelsea. Great 1-2 from Mata and his chip hits the far post. It rebounds to Torres and his shot is again blocked by Baker. Frantic stuff.
    • 21' Good spell of pressure from Villa here. Ireland and Weimann link well. Cech eventually gathers the cross.
    • 20' Collins got a good head on it and flashed it over the bar. Good chance.
    • 19' Villa corner headed clear by Terry. It's out for another corner.
    • 18' Ireland tries to chip it to Weimann but Cech easily gathers.
    • 17' Sturridge's cross falls to Mikel and his shot from distance is straight at Given.
    • 16' Agbonlahor finds Bannan but Terry heads clear his cross.
    • 15' John Terry can't keep it in and Villa win a throw. They seem to have weathered the storm since the goal.
    • 14' Villa coming back into it, Cech slices clear under pressure from a pass back.
    • 13' Gardner races down the right and whips in a cross but Cech catches easily.
    • 12' Agbonlahor breaks clear and bares down on goal. His shot flies just wide but the flag had already gone up for offside.
    • 11' Petr Cech gets his first touch for a Chelsea goal kick.
    • 10' Back flood Chelsea and with their attack, things look ominous for Villa early on.
    • 9' Tough on Warnock because it was a brilliant point blank block from Torres' initial shot.
    • 8' GOAL Chelsea! Torres has his first shot blocked from Mata's square ball. But it falls to Sturridge and he can't miss!
    • 7' Torres runs at the Villa defence but shows too much of the ball and is easily dispossessed.
    • 6' Great pass from Lampard finds Kalou in space but Torres puts it out for a goal kick.
    • 5' Luiz finds Torres with a great ball. He bares down on goal and shoots but it's a smart save from Given. Should have scored to end his Premier League goal drought.
    • 4' An adventurous starting line-up from Di Matteo but Villa have looked comfortable on the ball early on.
    • 3' Weimann did well to get round the back and get a cross in but easy for the Chelsea defence to deal with.
    • 2' Torres tries to release Sturridge down the left but it's out for a Villa throw. He's quick but not that quick!
    • 1' Juan Mata caught offside as Chelsea try to get off to a flyer here.
    • Referee Lee Mason blows the whistle to get us underway here. Both teams need wins for different reasons today. Just a reminder, Didier Drogba suffered a bruised foot in training yesterday and so will not feature.
    • 14.57 Stiliyan Petrov is sitting with his family and has just stood up to wave to the crowd. What a lovely round of applause. Great stuff and we wish him well.
    • 14.55 Match Odds: Aston Villa 7/2, Chelsea 5/6, Draw 5/2.
    • 14.50 Roberto Di Matteo: "I've been trying to speak to all my players and give them the confidence to play. We're in good form and shape, though. The spirit's good and we'll try to take that into the game. When you win, the confidence flows into the players and team. We'll try and take that into the next game. For every individual game, we'll look at which players are best to play that game."
    • 14.45 The omens look good for Villa. Chelsea have only won one of their last 12 Premier League visits to Villa Park and netted just two goals in their last five visits. Villa have won two and lost just one of the last five Premier League games against Chelsea, which included a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Eve.
    • 14.40 The big news, of course, is that Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has retired from the game after the shock news he has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia. Get the latest news on Petrov here.
    • 14.35 TEAMS: Aston Villa: Given, Lichaj, Collins, Baker, Warnock, Gardner, Herd, Agbonlahor, Ireland, Bannan, Weimann. Subs: Guzan, Albrighton, Heskey, Johnson, Williams, Carruthers, Grealish /// Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Sturridge, Mata, Kalou, Torres. Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Meireles, Malouda, Bosingwa, Cahill, Bertrand.
    • 14.30 Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Aston Villa v Chelsea from Villa Park. Kick off 15.00 GMT.

  • Summary

    • 90+2' GOAL Chelsea! And this time Torres does get on the sheet. A great pass from Sturridge finds him and he slides it past Given.
    • 84' GOAL! The Villa revival has been nipped in the bud and it's Ivanovic again! Torres flicks on the corner and the ball practically hits his head before going in.
    • 81' GOAL Aston Villla! Unbelievably it's 2-2. Albrighton ghosts past John Terry before crossing ito the far post and Lichaj slides in to poke the ball home! Amazing stuff!
    • 78' GOAL Aston Villa! It's James Collins to head home unmarked from a long throw. Game on.
    • 50' GOAL Chelsea! The corner falls kindly to Ivanovic who stabs it into the roof of the net.
    • 42' Villa win a free kick after a foul by Lampard. Ivanovic easily clears the danger but it falls to Agbonlahor who rifles a shot at goal. Cech saves brilliantly with his trailing leg after he fell the wrong way.
    • 35' Mata tries to feed Torres. The Spaniard could easily have reached it and pulled the trigger but inexplicably left it because he thought there was someone behind him!
    • 34' Sturridge breaks free and runs at the Villa defence. He goes it alone and his shot is saved low down by Given.
    • 22' Great chance from Chelsea. Great 1-2 from Mata and his chip hits the far post. It rebounds to Torres and his shot is again blocked by Baker. Frantic stuff.
    • 20' Collins got a good head on it and flashed it over the bar. Good chance.
    • 8' GOAL Chelsea! Torres has his first shot blocked from Mata's square ball. But it falls to Sturridge and he can't miss!
    • 5' Luiz finds Torres with a great ball. He bares down on goal and shoots but it's a smart save from Given. Should have scored to end his Premier League goal drought.
    • 14.35 TEAMS: Aston Villa: Given, Lichaj, Collins, Baker, Warnock, Gardner, Herd, Agbonlahor, Ireland, Bannan, Weimann. Subs: Guzan, Albrighton, Heskey, Johnson, Williams, Carruthers, Grealish /// Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Sturridge, Mata, Kalou, Torres. Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Meireles, Malouda, Bosingwa, Cahill, Bertrand.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      4.7 5
      Defenders
      Goal 4.2 7
      Goal 4.1 6
      3.2 6
      Yellow Card 4.6 6
      Midfielders
      3.7 5
      Substitution Out70′ 3.4 5
      3.3 5
      4 6
      Strikers
      3.7 6
      Substitution Out82′ 3.3 6
      Subs
      Substitution In82′ 3.4 5
      Substitution In70′ 4.9 5
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.8 7
      Defenders
      Goals ×2 8.6 7
      Substitution Out45′ 7.6 6
      7.9 6
      6.6 6
      Midfielders
      6.6 6
      7.6 6
      Goal 7.9 7
      Substitution Out74′ 8.1 8
      Substitution Out59′ 7.4 6
      Strikers
      Goal 8.6 8
      Subs
      Substitution In74′ 6.9 6
      Substitution In45′ 7.5 6
      Substitution In59′ 8.2 7

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