Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa as their trip to the Midlands ended in frustration.

Aston Villa made a bright start and could have taken the lead inside three minutes when Stephen Ireland fired narrowly wide, while John Carew also went close before half-time.

Chelsea began to take control after the interval and dominate possession, but they were unable to break down a resilient and organised Villa defence.

Both sides came close to breaking the deadlock in an exciting climax but were denied by the width of the post, with a glancing Ciaran Clark effort striking the upright moments after Branislav Ivanovic had done likewise at the other end with a more powerful header.

Nicolas Anelka also headed against the woodwork late on, while Nigel Reo-Coker squandered a glorious opportunity on the counter-attack in the dying seconds of the game.

Ricocheted

Villa missed a great chance to open the scoring through Stephen Ireland after three minutes.

Stewart Downing made a good break down the right flank and his low ball picked out the run of Ireland who took the ball in his stride. The former Manchester City player's cross-shot beat the dive of Petr Cech but flew inches wide of the far post.

Villa dominated the early stages and Cech produced a fine save to deny John Carew.

Stephen Warnock won the ball off Ramires and it ricocheted straight into the path of the Norway striker. He cut inside before drilling a low shot which Cech fingertipped around the post.

Paolo Ferreira then made a fine tackle to deny Carew another shooting opportunity after Ashley Young had threaded the ball into his path.

Villa were forced into a substitution after 13 minutes when Richard Dunne did not reappear after going down the tunnel for treatment following a challenge by Ramires.

He was replaced by youngster Clark rather than the experienced Carlos Cuellar.

Michael Essien became the first player to be booked for bringing down Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov.

Villa were soon back on offensive and Petrov had a shot deflected wide after Ireland had teed him up on the edge of the Chelsea box.

Chelsea started to enjoy a fair slice of possession and Mikel had the their first on target attempt after 33 minutes although it was comfortably dealt with by Villa keeper Brad Friedel

But in a Villa counter-attack Ivanovic threw his body forward to block a fierce drive from Ireland 20 yards out.

Urgency

Ancelotti made a half-time switch with the ineffective Gael Kakuta replaced by Yuri Zhirkov.

There was more urgency about the visitors' play in the early part of the second half.

Florent Malouda warmed the palms of Friedel with a powerful 25-yard drive, although he had his body right behind the shot.

A long ball played in Anelka behind the Villa defence and, after he had cut back inside, his low shot was blocked by the legs of Friedel.

Clark then got a vital touch on a cross from Zhirkov with Anelka unmarked behind him.

Terry was yellow-carded after 59 minutes for a heavy challenge on Young and Warnock was booked for a mistimed challenge on Anelka six minutes later.

The bookings were now coming thick and fast and Ireland was cautioned for hauling down Malouda in a Chelsea counter-attack.

Ivanovic came close to breaking the deadlock after 77 minutes when he powered his header against the near post from Malouda's corner.

But then the woodwork came to Chelsea's rescue when Young's free-kick hit the back of Terry's head and then deflected off Clark onto a post.

Young was yellow-carded for dissent after protesting too much at a free-kick awarded against him for fouling Jose Bosingwa.

Then Chelsea substitute Josh McEachran was booked for a challenge on Habib Beye.

Anelka headed against the bar from Cole's cross in the last minute of normal time.

Then, with almost the last kick, Reo-Coker found himself in space but lacked the necessary composure and shot wide, ensuring the match ended goalless.

Teams 

Aston Villa  Friedel, Beye, Collins, Dunne (Clark 13), Warnock, Ireland (Sidwell 84), Rio-Coker, Petrov, Downing, Carew (Delfouneso 74), A. Young
Subs Not Used  Guzan, Cuellar, Bannan, Lichaj
Booked  Warnock, Ireland, A. Young
Goals 

Chelsea  Cech, Ferreira (Bosingwa 75), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires (McEachran 76), Essien, Mikel, Kakuta (Zhirkov 46), Anelka, Malouda
Subs Not Used  Turnbull, Bruma, Mellis, Borini
Booked  Essien, Terry, McEachran
Goals 

Attendance  40,122

Referee  L. Mason