Olivier Giroud 7, Jorginho 5; Jack Grealish 7, Anwar Al-Ghazi 7: Chelsea v Aston Villa player ratings

Blues boss Frank Lampard backs his players after more points dropped

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy, 6 - A couple of indecisive moments when faced with balls into the box caused Mendy’s back four some moments of panic, and he won’t be happy that El Ghazi could squeeze a volley through his legs to draw Villa level. AP

Cesar Azpilicueta, 6 - Booked in first-half stoppage time for halting the run of Anwar El-Ghazi but had a steady game and was always available to Callum Hudson-Odoi on the overlap. EPA

Andreas Christensen, 6 - Given a tough test by the movement and quick feet of Grealish in the first half and the Dane was prone on the ground with an injury in the build-up to Villa’s equaliser. EPA

Antonio Rudiger, 6 - Quietly went about his business but Chelsea certainly lacked a leader at the heart of defence and the German was unable to help stem the tide in the second half as Villa grew in belief. Reuters

Ben Chilwell, 8 -- A real threat on the overlap, summed up when he provided a perfect cross for Giroud to head home the opener. The 24-year-old looks a snip at £50 million and almost won it at the death with a gorgeous volley that sailed inches wide. AP

N’golo Kante, 6 - A relatively quiet first half for the Frenchman but he saw more action in the second period, most notably with two strikes from the edge of the box in the space of a couple of minutes, but neither provided Emiliano Martinez with a decent test in the Villa goal. Booked for a late challenge on opposite number John McGinn. AP

Jorginho, 5 -- Failed to give his side enough midfield control when in possession and struggled defensively when visiting attackers ran at him with the ball. Replaced by Kai Havertz with 20 minutes left. EPA

Mason Mount, 6 - Almost added to Chelsea’s lead in the 39th minute when he burst through the Villa defence before wildly lashing the ball high and wide from six yards. Always looks like he can create something but today wasn’t quite his day. AP

Christian Pulisic, 7 - A busy game for the American in which he couldn’t quite make the most of a handful of decent chances but worked the ball nicely to Chilwell in the build-up to his side’s opener. A danger but needs to improve his end product. Getty

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 6 - An energetic performance from a player who was clearly keen to impress, and the closest he came to a goal was a driven second-half effort from the edge of the area that was well saved. EPA

Olivier Giroud, 7 - Feeding off scraps for the majority of the first half but took his header brilliantly when he peeled away from his defender before guiding the ball beyond Martinez in the Villa goal. Booked for an exchange of words with El Ghazi in the 71st minute before being replaced by Timo Werner seconds later. AFP

SUBS: Timo Werner (Giroud, 72’), N/R - Snatched at a chance in the 83rd minute and the ball flew harmlessly over the bar. Getty

Kai Havertz (Jorginho, 72’), N/R – Saw plenty of the ball in his 20 minutes on the pitch but didn’t muster anything meaningful. PA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez, 6 - A very efficient goalkeeper at dealing with set pieces into his penalty area, but there was nothing he could do about Giroud’s pinpoint header. AFP

Matt Targett, 7 - A candidate for man of the match on Boxing Day and after a tricky opening half-hour from Callum Hudson-Odoi the full-back got to grips with his winger and kept a lid on things in the second half. EPA

Ezri Konsa, 7 - Replaced the suspended Tyrone Mings for this one and was excellent at snuffing out embers of Chelsea danger as the hosts began to turn the screw in the final 20 minutes. AP

Kortney Hause, 7 - Will be annoyed he failed to test Mendy with a first-half header after getting goal side of marker Azpilicueta but had a steady game at the heart of Villa’s defence. PA

Matty Cash, 7 - Defended bravely against Christian Pulisic and wasn’t afraid to put his head where it hurt. Going forward, the former Nottingham Forest man was on hand with a brilliant cross that put the ball on a plate for El Ghazi to finish for Villa’s equaliser. AFP

Douglas Luiz, 6 - A smooth operator in midfield who always has bundles of time to keep play ticking over. The Brazilian didn’t provide the game with anything truly memorable but he’s a vital cog in the Villa engine. Reuters

John McGinn, 8 - Alert as ever to block a Pulisic effort from the edge of the box and the Scot almost stunned Frank Lampard’s side when his ferocious drive from 30 yards crashed against the crossbar, in what was an outstanding all-action display. EPA

Anwar El-Ghazi, 7 - Combined well with Jack Grealish as the two probed at the Chelsea defence in the first half, before getting on the end of an inch-perfect Matty Cash cross to guide a volley through the legs of Mendy for 1-1. Replaced by Jacob Ramsey late on. EPA

Bertrand Traore, 6 - The Burkina Faso international lit up his side’s win over Crystal Palace on Boxing Day but he spent large periods of this one on the outskirts of the game and didn’t impress full-back Cash when he failed to track his runner on the way to Chelsea’s goal. Brought off for Keinan Davis in the 87th minute. AP

Jack Grealish, 7 - Tested the keeper early on with a curling effort that was too central to cause any serious problems, but the Villa captain was at the heart of everything good about his side’s play on the counter and continues to shine at the top level. AFP

Ollie Watkins, 6 -- The summer signing from Brentford was full of running but never looked like ending his barren run in front of goal, which now stands at seven games. EPA

SUBS: Jacob Ramsey (El Ghazi, 82’), N/R – Millimetres away from winning it with a strike from the edge of the box that curled just wide only a few seconds after coming on. Reuters

Keinan Davis (Traore, 87’), N/R – Not enough time to make an impact. EPA

Frank Lampard has backed Chelsea to emerge stronger from a "tough period" of just one win in five Premier League matches.

Olivier Giroud headed Chelsea into a half-time lead against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Monday, but Anwar El Ghazi struck to seal a 1-1 draw for the visitors.

Lampard lamented a lack of luck for a Blues side which went 17 matches without defeat in all competitions before this current rut.

Hailing Chelsea's application and attitude, Lampard said: "This is our tough period at the moment, and we have to fight for it and we'll be stronger for it.

"The performance was good, I thought we deserved to win the game, but we don't and we continue to go through a difficult patch.

"The attitude of the team was good, without having the final bit of quality in the final third.

"Off the back of a really good run we've had a difficult little time, but I saw some really good signs tonight that I liked."

Andreas Christensen clashed with Jack Grealish and was left in a heap on the turf as Villa pressed on and El Ghazi snatched the equaliser.

Lampard stopped short of criticising the officials for not awarding a foul against Grealish, and did not blame Villa for continuing.

But the Chelsea boss thought there was a handball in the build-up to the goal, insisting the strike should have been chalked off.

"I think it was handball and the fourth official was very close to it, so I'm not sure why it wasn't given," he said.

"I haven't seen it again, the clash between Grealish and Andreas.

"I didn't think there was too much in it from what I saw, but I was just concerned that we had a man down on the field."

Villa's draw kept Dean Smith's fifth-placed side ahead of Chelsea, who are sixth.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe on the picture.