The Blues fell behind early into the contest when Marc Cucurella diverted John McGinn's strike into his own net. Morgan Rogers then added a second for the home side shortly before the interval. It left us with much work to do after the restart.

A tactical tweak from Pochettino – Cucurella moving into midfield in possession – paid off and Chelsea were able to pull a goal back just before the hour mark as Noni Madueke swept home. With ten minutes to play, we were level as Conor Gallagher's fine effort from 20 yards found the top corner.

The Blues were not done and went in search of a winner. Cole Palmer was denied a 21st Premier League goal of the campaign by Robin Olsen and the resultant corner led to Disasi heading home. It appeared as though we'd claimed all three points, but VAR ordered an on-field review and our winner was ruled out for a foul by Benoit Badiashile in the build-up.

'For me, the most important thing after Arsenal is that the team showed great character and personality, said Pochettino. 'And we showed that with the way we fight in the second half, even if we didn’t deserve to go 2-0 down in the first half.

‘I think the way we change the energy and dominate a good team like Aston Villa, I think that shows everyone that we are able to compete. If you analyse the 99 minutes, I think we were the better side.

‘I think the referee didn’t see all the action and what he saw wasn’t far from him, but then the VAR change the decision. I think the referee saw the action [live] and didn’t see a foul. Then he checks on the VAR, but I think it was a challenge that happens a lot in football.'

The one disappointment of the second half was an injury sustained late on by Thiago Silva. The Brazilian stayed down following a Villa attack with only a few minutes remaining and went off with what Pochettino confirmed was a groin problem.

‘We need to assess him and see,' explained the Chelsea head coach. 'It is a pain in his groin, I think it is similar to his injury at Crystal Palace.’