Premier League Player Ratings: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea

ASTON VILLA

Brad Friedel - 6.5 - Should not have been beaten by Drogba's speculative effort. Made two decent saves from Deco to atone for his mistake.

Stephen Warnock - 7 - Managed to get forward more often than Bosingwa, and provided a few solid crosses to boot. Stood firm alongside his team-mates to keep Chelsea at bay in an impressive performance.

James Collins - 7.5 - Partnership with Dunne looks a lot older than the mere two months they've had together. Made most of opportunity when he was left unmarked at a corner, and then provided countless important tackles to preserve Villa's advantage.

Richard Dunne - 7.5 - Grabbed his side's equaliser with a header from a corner. Assured defensively, Martin O'Neill will have been pleased with what he saw.

Carlos Cuellar - 7 - Had the occasional lapse in concentration but is a formidable presence at right-back. Silenced Ashley Cole, and forced Malouda infield in search of the ball.

Stilian Petrov - 7 - Runs from midfield caused threat on a number of occasions in the first half. Disciplined defensively to help his side hold on for victory.

Steve Sidwell - 6 - Worked hard against his former club, running from box-to-box and shielding his defence where possible. A determined effort.

Ashley Young - 6.5 - Not one of the young winger's finest games, as his delivery was inconsistent and struggled from open play. Provided corner for both goals, however.

James Milner - 6 - Worked hard for his team, and made a couple of crucial defensive interceptions. Looked dangerous going forward, but struggled to unlock the opposition defence.

Gabriel Agbonlahor - 6 - Caused opposition problems with his pace and direct running. Should perhaps have had a penalty after Bosingwa brought him down in the first half, but otherwise had few real chances to score.

John Carew - 6.5 - Won the aerial battle with Terry on a number of occasions, which is what his manager employed him to do. Struggled for goalscoring opportunities, but made up for it as he regularly tracked back.

Substitutes

Emile Heskey - 6 - Replaced the hard-working Carew late on, and provided another big presence in defence.

CHELSEA

Petr Cech - 6 - Couldn't do much for Villa's first goal, but got lost for Collin's winner. Coped well with the many high crosses that came his way in an otherwise solid performance on his return.

Ashley Cole - 6 - Not one of his best performances, and the booking he received for a late challenge on Agbonlahor perhaps summed up his afternoon. Unusually quiet going forward.

John Terry - 6.5 - Visibly angered by his side's poor discipline from corners, Terry dealt well with Carew's considerable presence in a good individual performance.

Ricardo Carvalho - 5.5 - Lost Dunne for the Irishman's equalising goal. Another underwhelming performance from the Portuguese defender,

Jose Bosingwa  - 5 - Got the nod ahead of Ivanovic, but struggled to deal with Agbonlahor and Young, and was lucky to escape the early penalty shout. A poor performance before he came off through injury.

Michael Essien - 6.5 - Another solid performance at the base of Chelsea's midfield. Tough in the tackle and stepped up the tempo when his side fell behind.

Florent Malouda - 5.5 - Struggled to get involved in the game, with a shot straight at Friedel his only major contribution.

Frank Lampard - 6.5 - Another game absent from the scoresheet, although the England midfielder provided the assist for Drogba's opener. A disciplined, if un-rewarded, midfield performance.

Deco - 6 - Looked agonizingly short of form in first half. Generally poor, but showed glimpses of major threat he could pose behind the front two in future games.

Didier Drogba - 7 - Long range shot was fortunate to go in, but deserved luck after working the opening. Always looked threatening, but Villa defended against him well.

Nicolas Anelka - 6.5 - Ran well off and around Drogba, and had one clear-cut chance that perhaps he should have done better with. Never gave up in search of late goal.

Substitutes

Branislav Ivanovic - 6 - Replaced the injured Bosingwa (should he have started ahead of him?) in the second half. Held fort while team-mates burst forward in search of goal.

Joe Cole - n/a - Late addition in place of Malouda. Had little time to make a real impact.

Alex Dimond, Goal.com UK