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Conor Gallagher salvaged a point for Chelsea late on, though the visitors were left to rue a late disallowed goal

 Updated 
Sat 27 Apr 2024 17.17 EDTFirst published on Sat 27 Apr 2024 13.54 EDT
Conor Gallagher celebrates after levelling for Chelsea.
Conor Gallagher celebrates after levelling for Chelsea. Photograph: Tim Keeton/EPA
Conor Gallagher celebrates after levelling for Chelsea. Photograph: Tim Keeton/EPA

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And the consequence is … Villa stay fourth, as they were always going to. They could have been nine points up on Spurs but have to settle for seven: Villa 67 from 35 games, Spurs 60 from 32.

Chelsea stay ninth with 48 points from 33 games, but they should end up eighth. They’re only just behind West Ham, who have 49 points from 35 games after they too drew 2-2 today, with Liverpool.

Here’s Conor Gallagher. “We’re gutted, really,” he says. “Poor first half, but lethargic. The gaffer, long story short, just told us to liven up and work harder. Second half was much better, we showed great character. The goal at the end should have counted, not my decision. Very happy with the goal, absolute swinger.”

Two goals per side, and two quite different halves. Villa controlled the first without having much of the ball. Chelsea bossed the second, while still allowing the odd chance, and they had a goal disallowed in each half. It could easily have been 4-4.

90+9 min Before that, Palmer had a big chance – he picked Villa’s pocket as they played out from the back, worked the space well, but his shot was saved by Olsen.

Hang on!

The ball came back in after a corner, and Disasi was alert and got the header in off the underside of the bar. But there had been a shove in the back in the build-up…

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90+2 min Gallagher and Palmer, the brains trust of this young Chelsea team, stand over a free kick. Gallagher takes it, then has a follow-up shot blocked. Palmer picks the ball up on the left wing but can’t do much with it.

88 min Big chance for Villa! A cross comes in from the right to the penalty spot, where Watkins has plenty of time to get the shot away – and he blasts it over the bar.

Watkins shoots at goal. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters
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87 min McGinn breaks away with the ball, though without anyone to pass to. Thiago Silva helps him out by fouling him and picks up a yellow card.

83 min Another Villa sub: Duran comes on to replace Diaby, who has now been subbed on and off in the same game. In terms of subs, this game is not so close: Villa 4, Chelsea 0.

82 min Villa may have a back five but none of them got stuck into Gallagher. He danced along the edge of the box, thought he might as well shoot, and hit the ball beautifully – left foot, top bin. He was helped by a good little run off the ball from someone, Palmer I suspect.

77 min Villa seem to have switched to a back five, but Chelsea are still looking dangerous. They pile forward again and Cucurella tees up Palmer, whose shot from the D is just wide.

74 min Villa waste a corner. Time for some subs from Unai Emery: Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz off, Tim Iroegbunam and Diego Carlos on.

73 min Then Villa get upfield, with Watkins almost getting the chance he has been waiting for – but the ball refuses to fall kindly for him.

71 min Another chance for Madueke! Caicedo, nixing fire with finesse, pulls off a fine sliding tackle and then plays a dink through to Madueke, whose left-foot poke is batted away by Olsen.

67 min Villa could do with a lull and they get one as Digne needs some treatment. “It’s chalk and cheese, it really is,” says Joe Cole about Chelsea in this half, as compared with the first. “They’ve started on absolute fire.”

65 min Palmer hits a skimmer, wide of Olsen’s left-hand post. The crowd are getting agitated and they’re right to be.

63 min The goal was made by Gallagher, with his buzzy pressing. He slipped in Madueke, who found the precision Chelsea had been lacking and steered a low shot into the far corner with his left foot as if his name was Cole.

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