Villa 0 - 1 Chelsea

First games in charge dont get much togher than this - away to a resurgent Aston Villa but Guss goes with Anelka and the Drog but in a standard 4-3-3. No Ash through suspension so Ferreria slots in to left back.

Its a bright start and the Drog looks up for it as first Drogba and then Lamps threaten the Villa goal. Cech flaps at a Milner cross and the ball breaks to Heskey but his shot is high and wide and not too handsome. With 20mins on the clock, Lamps dances between Davies and Petrov before sliding a pass through to Anelka who lifts the ball over Friedel into the corner of the net. Its all Chelsea now and Friedel is called into action again to stop a thunderous header from JT connecting with a corner from Lamps. On 33mins a suspect freekick gives Ashley Young a chance to level things but his shot hits the bar and Heskey heads wide. The half ends 0 - 1 to the Blues.

Villa look more up for it as the second half gets underway but JT has the best chance of the opening minutes when he again connects with a corner from Lamps but Petrov clears off the line. On 54mins, Agbonlahor slips in behind Alex but Cech saves well from his cross come shot. Villa are much improved but much to O'Neils annoyance, the Blues keep slowing the game down to break up their rhythm. As the half draws to a close The Drog shoots over and a nice interchange between Bozzy and Drogba sets the defender free but Friedel saves from close range. So it ends 0 -1 to the Blues and Gus is off to a winning start. Now its just the small matter of Juventus on Wednesday.

Come on U Blues