Chelsea FC

2.75

• 
  71

  86

  2.50

  Petr Cech

  Terrible afternoon were he should rightly berate all in front of him. Regularly left as the solitary last line of defence.

• 
  68

  64

  3.00

  Ashley Cole

  Was very rarely beaten one-on-one though will have to take some accountability for his team shipping three goals.

• 
  74

  101

  3.00

  David Luiz

  His athleticism shone through after constantly being left exposed. Covered well but too often doesn’t do himself any favours with bizarre positional choices. Carried the ball out of defence to offer his team a different attacking dimension.

• 
  43

  106

  2.50

  Paulo Ferreira

  Was given the runaround by N’Zogbia as his rustiness came to the fore. His inclusion was evidence of the injury woes currently faced by the club.

• 
  48

  105

  2.50

  John Terry

  The usual commanding performance though was often left vulnerable by his midfield, who constantly gave the ball away. Won't be reliving this one in a hurry.

• 
  58

  79

  2.50

  Oriol Romeu

  Not the kind of game that suggests he is ready to fully quash any first-team involvement of Mikel. Was a physical presence though the finer side of his game looked like it needed development.

• 
  58

  79

  2.50

  Ramires

  Too often a protagonist when Chelsea’s play broke down. However, for sheer mileage you can’t knock him but his carelessness on the ball made it difficult for his team to build any sustained pressure.

• 
  60

  122

  3.00

  Raúl Meireles

  Reasonably accomplished though failed to muster much drive going forward.

• 
  137

  27

  3.00

  Juan Mata

  As now seems now mandatory, if anyone was going to spark anything off for Chelsea, it was him. However, rarely got on the ball in positions where he was able to really influence the game.

• 
  83

  124

  3.00

  Didier Drogba

  Won and scored the penalty that put his side ahead but with the supply cut off to him the whole team really suffered.

• 
  74

  185

  2.50

  Daniel Sturridge Flop of the Match

  A fully anonymous first half was followed up by much of the same in the second. The burden of goal getting looks to be resting heavily on his head.

Substitutions

• 
  72

  46

  3.00

  José Bosingwa

  Stung Guzan's palms with a decent effort from range but otherwise there was little he could do to deny Villa.

• 
  57

  161

  2.50

  Frank Lampard

  Couldn't effect the game in any way, shape or form after coming on.

• 
  391

  34

  3.00

  Fernando Torres

  Immediately rattled the cross bar after coming on to totally alter the dismal atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.

Aston Villa

3.50

• 
  46

  17

  3.00

  Bradley Guzan

  Will arguably be upset not to get at last something behind Drogba’s penalty yet otherwise enjoyed an afternoon that was more comfortable than Chelsea's possessional domination suggested.

• 
  34

  12

  3.00

  Stephen Warnock

  Regularly advanced well, maybe in part due to Sturridge’s inability to directly effect the game. Kept the onform winger almost totally silent.

• 
  47

  13

  3.50

  Richard Dunne

  Rash challenge to bring down Drogba and lead to his team going a goal down. Otherwise, dealt with the burly Ivorian’s bullying very well.

• 
  42

  10

  3.50

  James Collins

  Ably marshalled a back four that denied Chelsea time and time again. Snuffed out any signs of Chelsea advancement early on.

• 
  41

  10

  3.50

  Ciaran Clark

  Cut off the supply to Drogba which drained the hosts of the get out clause of using the frontman's physicality.

• 
  43

  12

  3.50

  Carlos Javier Cuéllar

  Mata’s roaming occasionally pulled him out of position though otherwise put in a solid, dependable shift.

• 
  171

  26

  4.00

  Stephen Ireland Top of the Match

  Headline-writing performance, done. Composure in the box ensured that the under-fire midfielder tucked in after Terry’s clearance. Was given a free role and epitomized everything that was good about Villa on the day, totally vindicating McLeish’s faith.

• 
  57

  12

  3.50

  Charles N'Zogbia

  Jinking run down the left flank was the catalyst for Villa’s equalizer and proved a handful from start to his withdrawal.

• 
  74

  11

  4.00

  Marc Albrighton

  Decent deliveries from out on the right always provided a threat though, in the face of Cole’s experience, sometimes came across a little naive. Nevertheless, was a key cog in his side's fantastic result, defending dilligantly at times

• 
  70

  11

  3.50

  Stilian Petrov

  Hassled and harried Chelsea into making a lot of mistakes in the middle before sealing an unlikely win with a composed finish in the last ten minutes.

• 
  73

  14

  4.00

  Gabriel Agbonlahor

  Lead his side’s front three in a flexible and inventive manner that saw him work very well in tandem with Ireland. At times the opposition - especially with Terry’s lack of pace and Luiz’s irrational positioning – struggled to contain him. Missed a prime opportunity to put his side in the driving seat early on in the second half.

Substitutions

• 
  31

  12

  3.00

  Gary Gardner

  Quick opportunity to stretch his legs and helped keep a Chelsea that were detemined to get back into the game after conceded firmly out of the game.

• 
  70

  9

  3.50

  Darren Bent

  Was presented a near open goal by Ireland and duly obliged to put three points in the bank.