Aston Villa's great run of form inevitably had to end sometime, as all good things usually do, and it happened on their own turf, at Villa Park against Chelsea in a hard fought game that saw domination shift both ways in both halves of the match.

This wasn't just the end of their unbeaten spell, it was Aston Villa's first defeat to the Londoners in Birmingham for 10 years. Whether it can all be attributed to the Hiddink factor, in his first official match for the Blues, or simply because Chelsea were visibly up for it, it didn't matter. Only time will  tell if Chelsea's fortunes can be altered by the Dutchman, and by the same token, only time will tell if Villa are tough enough to live past this, forget about it, and resume in their winning ways.

The decisive goal, and the only goal – an elegant Nicolas Anelka chip past Villa keeper Brad Friedel - came in a first half of the match. The Frenchman bagged the three points  in the 20th minute after he was set up by Frank Lampard.

But Villa did their have their chances to restore parity - Ashley Young crashing a fierce drive against the crossbar and Gabriel Agbonlahor heading marginally wide when well-placed.

The first half was a hard fought affair with the visitors from London being the more coherent and mature side on the pitch, with more of the better chances being theirs. After the break however, Aston Villa came out determined to change things around and they surged forward. The hosts dominated the proceedings in the second 45 minutes as Martin O'Neill's troops were increasingly being able to dig out their usual effective rhythm of play.

Gareth Barry was twice denied by Petr Cech, while John Carew, a second half substitute, headed wide late on. Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov again worked his socks off in the middle of the park and on average had a strong match, proving once again that he is a consistent and reliable asset in the club. Stiliyan Petrov saved his club from a second goal when he cleared a John Terry header off the line as keeper Brad Friedel was well beaten. 

Chelsea survived the surge in the second part as both teams exchanged a half - Chelsea were outstanding in the first 45 minutes, but then clang on for dear life in the second half as Villa exerted more and more pressure all over the park.

This time around it wasn't to be for the boys in claret and blue but they have the aspirations of a strong side and as such they will find the mental strength to bounce back when domestic action returns to Villa Park next Sunday with the home match against Stoke City.