FA Cup history could be made after Aston Villa vs Chelsea with event which hasn't happened for over 120 years
History could be made.
FA Cup history could be made at the end of Aston Villa's fourth-round replay against Chelsea.
The two Premier League giants played out a drab 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening.
Douglas Luiz thought he'd given Villa the lead 13 minutes in but had his goal ruled out for handball by VAR.
Chelsea did have their chances but failed to make them count due to poor finishing and a solid performance from Emiliano Martinez.
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It means the two sides will do it all again at Villa Park next month.
By the time that game ends, we might be witnessing an FA Cup like no other in our lifetime.
If Villa manage to beat Chelsea, as they did back in September's 1-0 victory, it'll be the first time no team from London has reached the fifth round since 1901/1902.
Several Premier League sides are based in London but all have suffered early exits.
Arsenal, Brentford and Crystal Palace were all dumped out in the third round by league rivals Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton, while West Ham were beaten by Championship outfit Bristol City.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a last-gasp defeat to reigning champions Manchester City on Friday and Fulham were comfortably dispatched by Newcastle United on Saturday.
Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup final last week after overcoming Middlesbrough and an FA Cup run could help ease the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues have turned a corner in recent weeks, but still sit ninth in the Premier League table.
Cole Palmer has been a bright spark since sealing a £42.5 million move from Manchester City over the summer.
He missed two glorious chances against Villa, however, which Pochettino commented on post match.
The Argentine told reporters: "I prefer him on the pitch at the moment! but be careful because after [reading this] he may feel he will [always] play!
"He is still young and needs to improve and to keep performing this way.
"He is a player who can play in different positions and you can see and feel that we never talk about his performances because he is always doing really good.
"It's just that sometimes he scores or doesn't score, but he always finds amazing chances in the game."
Topics: Chelsea, Aston Villa, FA Cup
Daniel Marland