Chelsea and Aston Villa will contest a fourth-round replay after both sides cancelled each other out in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge.
Aston 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 (VAR) ruled the goal out after adjudging 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.
Chelsea have turned a corner in recent weeks.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are unbeaten in their past 10 home matches, and reached the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday night with a thumping 6-2 aggregate win over Championship side Middlesbrough.
They had multiple chances in the first half as Martinez denied Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer from close range, the latter latching on to the ball after a poor backpass from Villa’s Clement Lenglet.
The Argentine also made two excellent saves to prevent own goals, keeping out a Luiz header and Alex Moreno’s poked clearance after a low cross from Palmer.
Palmer looked lively for the eight-time winners and should have scored midway through the second period after intercepting a Martinez clearance, but miskicked his shot in the penalty area.
Chelsea had won their past eight FA Cup matches at Stamford Bridge, but were frustrated by Villa in the closing stages and did not record a shot after the 63rd minute.
