Aston Villa manager Unai Emery wants his side to be FA Cup “contenders” after Villa and Chelsea cancelled each other out at Stamford Bridge to set up a fourth-round replay.
Villa’s Douglas Luiz thought he had opened the scoring in the 12th minute, tapping into an open net after Moussa Diaby’s shot deflected into his path.
But the video assistant referee ruled out the goal, judging the Villa midfielder had controlled the ball with his hand.
Chelsea had several opportunities to take the lead but were frustrated by a combination of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and poor finishing.
The pair will meet again at Villa Park in early February.
“This competition is important for everybody,” Emery told Media. “The message is clear, we want to try to be contenders in this competition.
“Of course it is difficult, but today we showed it.”
Connection with fans reminds Martinez of world champions Argentina
In recent seasons, the fourth round has been unfamiliar territory for FA Cup seven-time winners Aston Villa – who last reached this stage in 2016 – and who were playing their first competitive fixture in almost two weeks.
While Villa’s league campaign remains the focus – Emery’s side are in fourth and five points off the top – they did end a run of eight consecutive FA Cup defeats with a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough in the last round.
“We want to give the fans a cup run,” said goalkeeper Martinez who is no stranger to silverware having lifted the 2022 World Cup with Argentina. “We want to give them the trophy, we want to give them Champions League football.
Villa, who have not won a trophy since lifting the 1996 League Cup, have not won the FA Cup since 1957.
The visitors started brightly in west London, with Youri Tielemans’ header after a free-kick routine tipped over the bar by Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic.
After the restart, Petrovic was called into action again to palm away an Ollie Watkins effort from a tight angle, and the Serb keeper did even better to tip Matty Cash’s left-footed curling effort around the post in the 73rd minute.
Villa were the better side in the final moments and went close when defender Ezri Konsa sliced an effort agonisingly wide.
“We had the best year in Villa history in terms of points last year,” added Martinez. “We want to give the fans something at the end of the season.
“That’s why they come in numbers, they feel connected with the team. I feel the same way with the national team, with Argentina. We felt the same way with our fans and we repaid them with titles. I feel something similar here.”
