Aston Villa came from behind to force Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in a Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Striker Oliver Giroud marked his return to the Chelsea starting line-up with a trademark header finish from Ben Chilwell’s cross in the 34th minute.
Parity was restored five minutes after the interval, though, when the unmarked Anwar El Ghazi converted Matty Cash’s inviting delivery at the back post.
That was El Ghazi’s fifth goal in as many games for Villa.
Both sides had chances to steal victory, with Villa coming closest when John McGinn smashed a thunderous long-range effort off the crossbar.
The result sees Dean Smith’s in-form Villa move up to fifth in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea – with both sides now a point outside the top four.
Villa, whose unbeaten run now stretch into five games, have two games in hand on second-placed Leicester and are three points behind the Foxes.
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