Several early and late chances for Villa bookended some good opportunities for Chelsea, but I suspect both managers will be satisfied with the point after this extremely entertaining encounter at Villa Park, despite the lack of goals. The best chance of the game came with almost the last kick of the game, Nigel Reo-Coker in the unfamiliar territory of a one-on-one with Petr Cech, lifting his effort just wide.

It started off in an encouraging fashion for the home side, Stephen Ireland with the first opportunity, popping up exactly where we want to see him; on the edge of the box, exploiting pockets of space. Unfortunately he dragged his shot from the right just wide of the far post.

Just minutes later, John Carew, who looked lively to begin with, charged through the left channel and unleashed a driven shot which Cech did well to get enough on to divert out for a corner.

A little wind seemed to be taken from Villa’s sails when Richard Dunne was forced to withdraw with an ankle injury after just 13 minutes, I wonder the significance of being replaced by Ciaran Clark, not Carlos Cuellar? Clark certainly showed why he’s clearly now ahead of Curtis Davies in the pecking order with an assured and mature display at the back and even struck the woodwork late in the second half, nodding on an Ashley young free kick delivered exactly where and how you want to see them.

Chelsea pushed back for the remainder of the half, but were mostly kept at bay by a well organised back line protected by Petrov and Reo-Coker in the centre. A little of the early spark faded and things seemed to get a little bogged down in midfield, much as we suspected ahead of kick off.

Ancelotti made an interesting change at half time, Yuri Zhirkov coming on in place of Kakuta, the change in shape clearly intended to get at Habib Beye who had given a reasonable account of himself during the opening 45 minutes, but an obvious weakness.

The change had the desired effect and the extra width Zhirkov provided allowed Chelsea to stretch Villa, gifting Anelka more space to operate in and he managed to strike the wood work at least a couple of times during the second period.

Villa weren’t without chances though and generally looked capable of grabbing a goal on the break except for the clearly tiring John Carew. Nathan Delfouneso came on with 16 minutes left and did a perfectly decent job leading the line on his own, not something I think is his particular strong point. But he was fine.

When Ancelotti responded with Bosingwa for Ramires and young McEachran for Paula Ferriera is seemed that both managers were content to see out time and take the point.

However, Nigel Reo-Coker had other ideas in injury time, hustling John Terry Joshua McEachran in possession before dispossessing him of the ball and charging on with no one between him and three points but Petr Cech. He did everything right, with the possible exception of a fractionally heavy final touch before entering the box which forced him to stretch ever so slightly as he lifted the ball over the keeper.

The ball bounced agonisingly into the side netting, Branislav Ivanovic helplessly sliding across the empty goal mouth in a last ditch effort to prevent what would have been a certain goal if on target. It was a chance that will obviously hang heavy on Reo-Coker, but he should be proud of his performance once again today.

It was one of those chances that you might feel if only it fell to anyone but Reo-Coker, not known for his goal scoring, but it was Reo-Coker himself who created the chance by doing what Reo-Coker does, hustling and harassing players in possession.

Overall, I think every Villa fan would have taken a point before the game and the overwhelming majority seem reasonably happy after the final whistle. Could have been a little better, could have been a lot worse.

As far as individual performances go, I think we can all be impressed once more by young Ciaran Clark at the back and Stewart Downing continues to show why MON brought him to the club. Reo-Coker, as I have already alluded to, was a rock in the centre. Both Carew and Ireland looked good to begin with, but both faded as the game wore on.

We know where we are with Carew, but while Ireland obviously needs some time, we can be forgiven for starting to wonder how much time. Maybe missing that early chance prayed on his mind, but he was finally employed in his favoured position – albeit against Chelsea – and I was hoping to see a little more from him.

I’ll work on a Statshack a little later, but a cursory glance reveal similar numbers to previous matches against Chelsea with Villa owning about a third share of the completed passes and possession, although actual attempts on goal were fairly even.

Villa: Friedel, Dunne (Clark 13′), Collins, Warnock, Beye, Petrov, Reo-Coker, A Young, Downing, Ireland (Sidwell 84′), Carew (Delfouneso 74′). Unused Subs: Cuellar, Bannan, Guzan, Lichaj.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira (Bosingwa 76′), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires (McEachran 76′), Obi, Essien, Malouda, Kakuta (Zhirkov 45′), Anelka. Unused Subs: Turnbull, Bruma, Mellis, Borini.