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Aston Villa suffer massive blow to top 4 ambitions as Chelsea force a draw
In an astonishing turn of events, Chelsea hit back hard to earn a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa today.
Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Mauricio Pochettino managed Chelsea has been a team that has tried very hard but has simply not been able to sharpen its attack or build up its defense enough throughout the season. It was no wonder that it was trailing in the 9th spot ahead of this match. Aston Villa on the other hand has dealt lusty blows to even the biggest teams and has been rooted to the 4th spot for quite some time. However, all that good work was damaged today and Tottenham Hotspur, which is one spot behind, would be hoping to take advantage.
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Notably, Chelsea staged a remarkable comeback to salvage a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday. And not just that, were it not for VAR, they would have actually won 3-2!
Chelsea's defensive frailties were exposed very soon. The team suffered an early setback with Marc Cucurella's own goal (he diverted a cross into his own net) and Morgan Rogers' strike putting Villa in a commanding position by halftime. All was seemingly lost for Chelsea. In fact, the scoreline more or less reflected their woeful season.
Despite Villa's dominance, Chelsea gradually found their footing, with Gallagher and Madueke spearheading their fightback with well-taken goals.
However, displaying resilience that is not often seen in the team, Chelsea clawed their way back into the match, much to Villa's surprise who were sitting back after going up by 2 goals.
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They regretted that as Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher found the net.
And Chelsea appeared to snatch victory in stoppage time when Robin Olsen, Villa's goalkeeper, inadvertently diverted Axel Disasi's shot into his own net. However, the goal was disallowed due to a Badiashile infringement.
The drawn result dealt a blow to Villa's ambition of fending off Tottenham in the race for a Champions League qualification spot. Despite Villa's current seven-point lead over fifth-placed Tottenham, the outcome could dent Villa's morale and even create doubt about their abilities in big matches.
Much to Villa fans' disappointment, their team have not secured a top-four finish and it all goes back to the last century - 1995-96, to be precise.
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On the other hand, Pochettino, who has faced much criticism for his side's bad run this season has their support as well as the players. In fact, he assembled the squad at a staggering cost exceeding £1 billion. Today's performance will ensure greater leeway for the manager to build a stronger challenge, if not this season, then in the next.
