- Chelsea have dropped points once more as Frank Lampard’s side were held against Aston Villa
- Olivier Giroud rewarded his manager’s faith by putting the Blues ahead with a superb diving header
- However, Villa responded well and levelled the scores early in the second half through Anwar El Ghazi
- Wilfried Zaha scored for Crystal Palace before Harvey Barnes equalized for Leicester at Selhurst Park
Chelsea held to 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have now won just one of their last five Premier League matches after a frustrating recent run continued on Monday night.
Looking to bounce back from a damaging sequence of three defeats in four games that included a 3-1 London derby loss at Arsenal on Boxing Day, the Blues went ahead in the first half at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Olivier Giroud’s header.
However, Chelsea – who showed six changes for their second fixture in 48 hours – were pegged back just five minutes after the interval thanks to another strike from the in-form Anwar El Ghazi.
The result means Chelsea sit sixth, behind fifth-placed Villa on goal difference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace and Leicester City shared the spoils at Selhurst Park.
Zaha opened the scoring for the Eagles in the 57th minute before Harvey Barnes levelled the score late in the match.
The Foxes remain second in the table as Palace are 13th.
