Martin O'Neill (zimbio)

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill said his side’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday showed they can pit themselves against the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

The Villans got off to a bad start, Didier Drogba giving the away side the lead at Villa Park with only 16 minutes on the clock.

But the Birmingham-based club fought back to claim a fifth league victory of the 2009/10 campaign.

Villa also beat Liverpool earlier this season and O’Neill is of the opinion he has assembled a squad more than capable of matching the so-called ‘big four’.

“I don’t know about beating the big four, but we can definitely compete with them,” O’Neill told Sky Sports.

“It was a great effort against a top-quality team and it’s my own view that Chelsea will win the Premier League.

“We’ve got a lot of good players in the team and a lot of good players in the squad.

“Ashley Young, [Gabriel] Agbonlahor and James Milner. We have people like this who can all play this game and play it brilliantly. Today they showed that.”

Villa secured maximum points thanks to two headed goals from corner kicks with Richard Dunne and James Collins both nodding past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

O’Neill was keen to stress that while it is important to make the most of set-pieces, his team are not overly reliant upon them.

“We’re a very, very good team and set-pieces are part of the game today,” he added.

“World Cup finals have been settled on set-pieces and it is part of the game.

“However, that can overlook what we do. We have quality players who can play, who try and get it wide, and who like to wow the crowd.”

Ricky Brooks, Goal