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Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa on Monday that keeps the Villans above the Blues in the Premier League table. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Chelsea after 34 minutes from a Ben Chilwell assist but Anwar El Ghazi levelled for Villa just five minutes into the second half after being teed up by Matty Cash.

John McGinn hit the woodwork while Chilwell flashed a late volley wide but neither side could find a winning goal as Dean Smith's men returned to Birmingham with a valuable point that moves them into fifth. For Frank Lampard, under fire pre-match, there remain significant questions as they sit six points behind leaders Liverpool having played one match less than Jurgen Klopp's champions.

Some takeaways.

Olivier Giroud keeps scoring goals

Chelsea came into the Villa clash needing goals from the France international in place of the misfiring Timo Werner and although it did not result in a win, Giroud did deliver. The 34-year-old has a habit of scoring goals against the men from Birmingham and added to his collection here, illustrating that it is not enough to simply have an attacker in hot scoring form but that Chelsea need more work if they are to start taking points against those in European contention.

Villa are the real deal

Make no mistake, Villa are in the shakeup for continental qualification and could find themselves even higher in the table depending on how their two games in hand go. Smith's team showed character to come back from one goal down and flashes of the quality that they have shown against other teams already this season.

A draw did not flatter the visitors at Stamford Bridge, and they were also without regular central defender Tyrone Mings through suspension. Smith and his players have found the right mindset and tactical setup to go with their undoubted quality in the likes of Jack Grealish, now they must harness it.

Just let Kante be Kante

Starting with Jorginho, Kante played a more advanced role but when the France international was restored to his more familiar midfield spot when Kai Havertz entered for the Brazilian, Chelsea improved and were in the ascendancy towards the end. The same sort of setup might benefit the likes of Werner and Havertz as they continue to find their feet in the Premier League, and it was Kante who was the stabilizing factor once Lampard restored him to his familiar role.

El Ghazi on song

The Netherlands international now has four goals from his last three matches in the Premier League and is finally showing the sort of consistency that was missing with Ajax and Lille OSC. If El Ghazi, 25, can keep this up, then Villa will continue to hurt their opponents. His purple patch of form and Bertrand Traore's addition has given Smith greater depth out wide than ever before.

Passive Pulisic fades down the stretch

Had the USMNT star taken his early chance, it might have been a different story. However, the 22-year-old wasted his one-on-one against Emi Martinez in the Villa goal and it set the tone for a frustrating evening in which he was quieter than most of his teammates. While Pulisic did end the match with four shots, three came in the opening half hour and his influence waned dramatically as the match wore on.

McGinn is magical

It has taken a while, but McGinn is finally back to his brilliant best and he makes a huge difference in Villa's midfield. You could argue that his team might not have struggled as much as they did had he not gotten injured last season. Anyway, he is back to the same sort of level that earned him admiring glances last campaign and he very nearly capped an excellent display with a thunderous strike that hit the crossbar, nearly conjuring a winner out of absolutely nothing.