Aston Villa may have lost their 100 per cent home record but their performance against Premiership title contenders Chelsea was full of promise for the future.
Cosmopolitan Chelsea dropped their first points of the season but they had no complaints against a Villa side which more than held its own in a closely contested game.
Blues manager Jose Mourinho is building future success on a strong defence. It may not be pretty to watch but it is effective, as was demonstrated here as they battled hard for a point.
In preparation for their entry into Europe this week Chelsea need to find some more attacking flair if they want to make an impact.
Even in the early stages Chelsea set themselves up not to lose which, in view of their star-studded team, was a negative approach.
The visitors had every reason to be thankful to goalkeeper Petr Cech who was in brilliant form early in the game when he flung himself to his left to keep out a powerful, curling free-kick from Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Chelsea, already accused of not showing enough attacking ideas, found themselves under considerable early pressure from a vibrant Villa side.
The Blues' class was clearly evident in all departments as they absorbed the pressure without too much trouble and slowly found an attacking gear with Mateja Kezman a particular danger.
The former PSV Eindhoven striker was a livewire but was generally well held by stand-in central defender Mark Delaney and skipper Olof Mellberg.
Villa also operated with Nolberto Solano in a midfield role just behind the two strikers, Juan Pablo Angel and Darius Vassell.
The tactic worked well in the first half as Chelsea were not prepared to take too many risks.
Solano was the main provider for Vassell, but the England striker was unable to take advantage. The former Newcastle player then went through himself, but his final pass eluded Angel just yards away from the visitors' goal.
Chelsea's best chance to move ahead in the first half came in the 23rd minute when Kezman demonstrated his class by hoodwinking Hitzlsperger and putting over a cross from which Joe Cole hastily shot wide.
This signalled an improvement in Chelsea's attacking tempo which resulted in Cole setting up Didier Drogba, who rattled the crossbar with a 20-yard shot.
Kezman then won the ball near the corner-flag from Thomas Sorensen and put in an angled shot which hit the post. But the referee had blown for an infringement which enabled Villa to regroup in the face of growing pressure.
It was in this spell just before half-time that Villa were indebted to the steel of Gavin McCann. His no nonsense approach was invaluable as Chelsea threatened to carve open the home defence.
Chelsea's defensive stalwart was skipper John Terry. He gave Angel little chance to shine and it was his commanding play which enabled the likes of Celestine Babayaro to show their skills.
A more concentrated attacking effort at the start of the second half resulted in Cole twice testing Sorensen.
Cech was likewise under pressure from a free-kick by Solano, who was surprisingly replaced by Lee Hendrie in the 57th minute.
Both teams made further substitutions in an effort to break the stalemate. But there was no immediate improvement from either side and there were few real chances.
Angel made way for Luke Moore but Villa's options seemingly became more limited in the absence of the Colombian international striker, who is still far from fully fit following a close-season knee operation.
The move very nearly proved successful when Jlloyd Samuel put Moore in possession. The youngster switched the ball to Vassell but, with an open goal at his mercy, he somehow managed to screw the ball wide.
Chelsea responded with Adrian Mutu testing Sorensen with a long-range shot.
Mutu emerged again with a cross from the right which Delaney bravely headed over the bar under pressure from Drogba right at the death.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Gavin McCann.
The often under-estimated Villa midfield player was the strong man in snubbing out the Chelsea attack. He proved to be an inspiration as Villa collected a valuable point.