Chelsea vs. Aston Villa, Premier League: Half-time report

Thanks, Brad Guzan.

Jose Mourinho made quite a few changes to his usual starting lineup on Saturday, looking for anything to improve the club's performance against a struggling Aston Villa side. Those changes didn't seem to have much of an effect, however, as Chelsea still struggled to create many chances of note, while still conceding several good ones for Tim Sherwood's side in the process.

Fortunately for the Blues, Villa failed to put away any of the chances they created, and Brad Guzan made an unthinkable error, which led to Willian and Diego Costa bearing down on the American keeper's goal without a single Villain defender available to help. Predictably, Costa finished the easy chance, and Chelsea have the lead at the halftime break.

Still, 1-0 is never the most comfortable of scores, and Mourinho's side (and many nervous fans) could really use a second, to create a bit of a cushion. I'm not sure I'd put it past this Chelsea side to throw away a two-goal lead against a bad Villa side, but it would definitely make me more comfortable than I am right now.