A brilliant second-half strike by Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher secured a 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa on Saturday as the Blues staged a thrilling comeback from two goals down to threaten Villa’s Champions League hopes.
Villa is fourth on 67 points, seven ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, which plays title-chasing Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday as one of its three games in hand over Villa. Chelsea is ninth on 48 points.
Thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal in midweek, Chelsea got off to the worst possible start when Villa midfielder John McGinn’s shot was scuffed into his own net by Marc Cucurella in the fourth minute, and the home side dominated the opening 45 minutes.
It went in 2-0 up at the break after Morgan Rogers added its second goal just before the break, his third in three home games for Villa.
However, the game then turned as Villa were forced to replace keeper Emi Martinez with Robin Olsen due to a hamstring injury, and the Swede was powerless to stop Noni Madueke from pulling back a goal in the 63rd minute.
When Gallagher was left room to shoot from the edge of the box he needed no second invitation, curling a stunning 81st-minute equaliser past Olsen to put his side level.
Chelsea almost completed an incredible comeback by snatching a late winner as substitute Axel Disasi headed what looked to be a stoppage-time winner for the visitors, but Benoit Badiashile was found to have committed a foul in the build-up and the goal was ruled out.
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That decision provoked an angry response from the Chelsea players, with several of them confronting the referee after the final whistle to protest about the decision.
“Should it have been three points? Yes. Do I think the goal should have stood? Yes. Nothing else to say about the situation,” Chelsea goal-scorer Madueke said in a post-match TV interview.
“We have an abundance of quality and when we fire we’re a match for any team. The last game was terrible. For 70 minutes today the team were outstanding,” he added.
Villa’s Rogers was philosophical, despite how close his side came to losing on the night.
“We are disappointed, they controlled most of the game ... we should probably see the game out, we might look back on it as a good point because they’re a good team,” he said.
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