Ghana defender Baba Rahman was nervous on his debut in the English Premier League as he played the full duration for Chelsea in their 2-0 victory Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who was touted as the better player in left-back for the Blues, was given the chance impress in the absence of the injured Ivanovic.
The hosts looked nervy in the opening stages, with Villa trying to take advantage and attacking regularly down the right-hand side, putting pressure on debutant Baba Rahman.
They sensed fragility particularly in Baba, the left-back on his Premier League debut and exposed early on by Alan Hutton’s marauding run down the flank as well as Jack Grealish’s regular darts into space.
However, the Ghanaian youngster recovered from the burden of playing his first Premier League game with some decent showing after the break.
Chelsea returned to winning ways as they beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Diego Costa profited from a defensive mix-up for the visitors as the Blues looked to bounce back from the 3-1 defeat to Southampton before the international break.
The unfortunate Alan Hutton then diverted the ball into his own net shortly after the break, and the visitors never really looked like getting back into the game.
Chelsea’s second home win of the season moves them up to 11th in the table, five points behind fourth place.
With Baba playing his first game in the English top-flight, the talented player will be hoping for many more matches to build on his confidence and experience in the most popular league in the world.
It was his first Premier League game since moving from German side Augsburg two months ago.