A goalless draw at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round will mean the sides will have to do it all over again at Villa Park.
Both managers made it abundantly clear in the build-up to the game how important the competition was for them but neither side could show enough quality to edge out the opponents on Friday night.
Villa made two changes from the side that drew with Everton as Leon Bailey and Diego Carlos dropped to the bench as Matty Cash and Youri Tielemans were handed starts.
Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa
Chelsea is a much different outfit to the side Villa beat back in September and Unai Emery would be under no illusions that his side would have to be at their best were they to progress to the next stage of the FA Cup.
The home side were the better of the two sides in the opening half but it was the visitors who had the ball in the net only for VAR to rule the goal out as Douglas Luiz was judged to have handled the ball in the build-up to the goal.
Emiliano Martínez was equal to everything the Blues fired at him with Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer having the most notable of chances.
Villa could have also put the ball in their own net through Luiz and Àlex Moreno but the Argentine was in no mood to let his clean-sheet go.
The visitors were better in the second half and forced a couple of saves late on from Chelsea keeper Đorđe Petrović but both sides ultimately cancelled each other out and the game will go to a replay, which neither side would have wanted.
What the managers said
Emery: “Very happy, very proud. First half we were struggling but we were being positive. Second half we were getting better and we finished strong, more close to scoring a goal. We were trying to win the match. Now we are going to play at home, we’ll be motivated and in Villa Park trying to enjoy this way. Ninety minutes at Villa Park with Chelsea is a great match but difficult as well.”
Mauricio Pochettino: “We didn’t score but we created chances and I trust and believe in my players playing this way that we’ll score. On Tuesday we scored six, today one would be good! But it’s because the keeper is an amazing keeper and sometimes you need some luck to score.”
Up Next
Aston Villa will host Newcastle United on Tuesday night at Villa Park as they hope to get payback following the defeat at St James Park at the beginning of the season.
Chelsea head to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Wednesday night.
