Players and supporters came together at Villa Park to show their support for captain Stiliyan Petrov before and during Villa's clash against Chelsea.

It was an emotional occasion with the skipper at the forefront of everyone's minds having been diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia on Friday.

Players from both teams wore specially made t-shirts during the warm-up, while supporters displayed numerous banners and signs in an incredible show of goodwill towards the Bulgarian midfielder.

And in the 19th minute a huge cheer erupted around the stadium as those in attendance gave Petrov a wonderful standing ovation.

Click here to see images from the day.

Friday's shock news did not stop Petrov coming to the stadium to cheer on his team-mates.

He watched on from the Trinity Road stand as Villa fought bravely despite losing 4-2 to Roberto Di Matteo's team.

Before the game, the Villa players donned t-shirts featuring Petrov's picture and the message 'Support Stan', while their Chelsea counterparts had 'Petrov 19' emblazoned on their shirts along with the words 'Our thoughts are with you'.

The captain leapt to his feet to acknowledge the supporters before the game and again during the special 19th minute ovation.

A number of fans also recorded video messages for the 32-year-old, which you can watch in the video player about.

Click here to see images from the day.