Following on from their 6-1 thumping victory over Middlesbrough in mid-week, Chelsea played host to Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
With the Blues having already secured a date at Wembley this season, they will now be made to take part in a replay up at Villa Park to see if they can progress in the other domestic cup competition, following this evening's 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
It will feel like an opportunity missed for Mauricio Pochettino and his team, as they dominated a lot of the chances in the match and on a different day could have won comfortably. For Aston Villa, they will feel they certainly have the upper hand now in the tie, due to their impeccable home record in all competitions.
VAVEL considers the four things we learned from this Friday evening fixture:
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Advantage Villa in the replay
Whilst both teams will be happy to still be ‘in the hat’ for the 5th round draw for the time being, it is an extra fixture that both managers would have hoped to avoid, as the season ramps up to its conclusion and the games come thick and fast.
Of the two teams, Aston Villa will certainly be the happier side given that they will now get another opportunity to progress, but this time they will play in front of their home fans. With the fourth round of the cup being the last round that has replays, the West Midlands club will be hoping to get the job done in a few weeks.
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Chelsea missing that finishing touch
Having put in a high-scoring performance against Middlesbrough earlier in the week, it felt like Chelsea may have finally been turning a corner with regards to their issues in the final third.
But against Aston Villa, it seems that they had reverted to type. Cole Palmer played the 'false nine' position for the majority of the match but did not have the killer instinct in front of the goal required to give Chelsea a deserved lead.
With Nicolas Jackson still away on AFCON duty and Armando Broja seemingly up for sale, a late charge for a centre forward to be brought into West London cannot be ruled out, with rumoured links to loan moves for Newcastle's Callum Wilson and Al-Ittihad's Karim Benzema only growing stronger by the day.
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Emery's men not up to speed
Although Aston Villa had not played a competitive game of football in over 12 days, they were the side that looked the least refreshed throughout the match.
Misplaced passes and a lack of intensity on the ball was apparent, whilst Chelsea looked much more match-fit and sharp, although most of the team had only played 72 hours prior. Apart from a brief resurgence mid-way through the second half, the Blues defence were never particularly troubled.
The away side will be grateful to have forced a replay on this occasion, as their sloppiness could have cost them more than once in this match, if not for some heroic goalkeeping from Emi Martinez.
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Gilchrist further shows his quality
Having been called into the starting line-up at short notice due to an injury in the warm-up for Levi Colwill, Alfie Gilchrist did not look out of place in the backline for Chelsea.
Constantly communicating with his team-mates and making intelligent decisions on and off the ball, whilst playing out of position at right back, the academy graduate looked as comfortable as any other player out there during his 65 minutes on the pitch, before being substituted for Ben Chilwell.
A loan move may be the next sensible step for Gilchrist's development for the upcoming season, but every time he has featured so far, he has shown that he is more than capable of mixing it with the best the Premier League has to offer, and if things go to plan, he has a bright future in SW6 ahead of him.
