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Chelski Fail To Close Gap
Aston Villa 0-0 ChelseaChelsea failed to break down Aston Villa to leave the champions six points behind leaders Manchester United.
The visitors dominated the first half and should have been well ahead by the interval, but both Didier Drogba and Ashley Cole missed gilt-edged chances.
Drogba miscued with a volley, while Cole headed straight at Gabor Kiraly.
Outclassed in that opening period, Villa provided a sterner test for Chelsea after the break and Liam Ridgewell went close with a header.
Chelsea had drawn their previous two league games, allowing leaders Manchester United to move seven points clear ahead of Tuesday's game with Villa.
Khalid Boulahrouz suffers a suspected ligament injury against Aston Villa.Chelsea's defensive problems have been well documented and the visitors suffered another blow in that department when Khalid Boulahrouz limped off with a knee injury in the opening half.
But it was Chelsea's attack rather their defence that let them down in an opening half that saw the visitors fail to convert a host of chances from the surfeit of possession they enjoyed.
In scoring 13 league goals this season Drogba has probably been Chelsea's most effective player, but even the Ivory Coast forward seemed to be affected by the Blues' mid-winter malaise.
Drogba should have put Chelsea ahead inside the opening 10 minutes, but his volley from the 6 yard box went onto the ground and over the bar.
Cole was the next Chelsea player to miss, sending his header directly at Kiraly.
Just before the first half ended, Frank Lampard's surging run brought him to the edge of the Villa box, but he failed to spot Claude Makelele, who was free on the right, and the attack broke down.
Midway through the second half Andriy Shevchenko came on for Shaun Wright-Phillips as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho opted to provide extra support for Drogba.
But the Ukraine striker proved as peripheral a figure as he has for most of this season and he rarely touched the ball.
Villa had barely an attack worthy of mention in the first-half, but as the game wore on the home side began to threaten from set-pieces and Ridgewell went close with a header from a corner.
In the closing stages Chelsea launched one final onslaught, but Lampard put the ball over the bar from close range, while Drogba headed over.
Drogba missed several good chances for ChelseaAston Villa manager Martin O'Neill:"I thought we played with a ferocious amount of determination, which we had to against a side like Chelsea. "We had to try to match them as much as we possibly could and I have nothing but praise for the players.
"They worked tirelessly and stuck it right to the end. We have played better and lost games."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho:"Six points at the end of this disgraceful period is not bad.
"We're leaving with a lot of hopes for the second part of the season.
"I think they answered my criticism. We got the point but more important was the attitude of the team. We are alive."

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Arsenal 4-0 Charlton Arsenal captain Thierry Henry returned from his injury lay-off to inspire the Gunners to a win over 10-man Charlton.
Henry slotted home the opener from the penalty spot after Osei Sankofa was sent off for fouling Robin van Persie.
Henry then played a fine one-two with Justin Hoyte for the defender to slot past Scott Carson, who had already magnificently saved from Cesc Fabregas.
Van Persie scored another spot-kick after Souleymane Diawara fouled Henry and then chipped in a fine late fourth.
With Henry back after his well-documented 34-day absence, the skipper's team-mates appeared keen to welcome their leader back with a goal glut.
Arsenal poured forward from the first whistle and after Gilberto Silva and Van Persie went close, Fabregas was denied by a contender for save of the season.
A Fabregas shot from 30 yards got a wicked deflection and looped up on to the crossbar and as Van Persie surged towards the ball, Sankofa bundled him over.
The right-back was harshly dismissed by referee Mike Riley on just his seventh Premiership start and Henry nonchalantly sent Carson the wrong way from the spot.

Hoyte got his first Arsenal goal, Henry his 222nd for the Gunners
Just before the break, Hoyte got his first Gunners goal with an effort so beautifully crafted any of his illustrious team-mates would have been proud to call it theirs.
Van Persie finally got his name on the scoresheet from the spot with 14 minutes left after Henry bamboozled Diawara and was blatantly tugged to the ground in the box.
The Dutchman made it 4-0 in stoppage time, latching on to a Mathieu Flamini pass and delaying before executing a fine lofted finish over Carson and into the net.
The effortless victory moves Arsenal up to fourth, while Charlton remain a distant six points away from Premiership safety.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Henry's return:"Of course it is a massive individual and psychological boost for the team to know he is back. "We worked Thierry hard on his fitness, which is why he looked so sharp.
"The penalty and the sending off was a turning point, we controlled the game before that but they didn't give us any space. We needed patience and got it."
Charlton manager Alan Pardew on Sankofa's sending off:"My view was that Robin van Persie was offside anyway. But then he's ahead of my full-back who tried to get back and it's not really a foul. "I'm aggrieved he got sent off. To play Arsenal's best XI with five missing is hard enough, let alone with 10 men.
"But I was pleased with how we played and Scott Carson was just fantastic."