Aston Villa 0 : 2 Chelsea
Posted Sunday, July 31, 2011 by The Sun
POINTING THE WAY ... Andre Villas-Boas gets his tactics across during the game
"We were able to manage it quite well in the first half and better in the second half."
Chelsea took the lead after just 35 seconds — despite Shay Given's best efforts to keep them at bay.
Nicolas Anelka shrugged off Richard Dunne before firing in a low drive which Given did well to palm away.
The Irishman then picked himself up to deny Florent Malouda but was helpless as the ball fell kindly to McEachran, who took a touch before prodding home.
Chelsea continued to look lively and and had a goal disallowed in the 25th minute when Frank Lampard's deflected free-kick found its way to the feet of John Obi Mikel.
The Nigerian midfielder made no mistake in slotting the ball under Given but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Given was called into action again on the half-hour mark to parry Lampard's fierce free-kick before getting down sharply seven minutes later to hang on to Anelka's drive.
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