Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish was left disappointed with their 4-2 defeat to Chelsea.

McLeish felt his side deserved some tangible reward from the game, despite being without eight senior players through illness or injury.

He said: "I don't think we were second best. Chelsea had their moments and have world-class players, but we got in their faces.

"To get back to 2-2 was a brilliant effort, the desire we showed was fantastic. But we paid for not being able to defend at set pieces which is frustrating."

McLeish took heart from the performance of his young players, adding: "There was great encouragement there. It was a challenge to see how they did on the big stage and they did not let themselves down."