Fernando Torres again failed to impress as Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Fulham on Monday in the West London derby.
Chelsea dominated for long spells but very nearly lost, with Petr Cech saving a last-minute penalty from Clint Dempsey.
The draw leaves Chelsea fifth, two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth Champions League qualifying position, and 12 points behind leaders Manchester United with 12 games of the season remaining.
Fulham, meanwhile, are 12th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
After the failure of the diamond midfield in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool last week, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti opted for a return to 4-3-3, which meant Didier Drogba being left out for Torres.
Torres, though, having looked out of sorts on his debut after his 50-million-pound (80.2-million-dollar) move from Liverpool, was little better at Craven Cottage.
When David Luiz, another deadline-day signing, picked him out with a clever lofted pass just before half-time, Torres miscontrolled badly, allowing Mark Schwarzer to gather.
The only other chance of a first half higher on tenacity than quality was a mishit Nicolas Anelka cross that Schwarzer did well to tip over.
Surprisingly, when a change was made after 64 minutes, it was Anelka rather than Torres who was withdrawn, and Salomon Kalou rather than Drogba who came on.
Six minutes later, Torres did depart, and Drogba made his entrance.
Chelsea had more of the ball and the territorial advantage in the second half, but there was little in terms of goalmouth incident.
Luiz put a decent headed chance over, and Michael Essien couldn't quite get sufficient purchase on another header as the pressure became increasingly concerted. Not for the first time recently, Chelsea looked a side short of both dynamism and guile.
Fulham's massed defence, though, held out, and then, in the final minute of injury-time, Luiz tripped Dempsey to concede a penalty.
The US midfielder, though, hit his spot-kick straight at Cech, and Chelsea survived with a point.
Chelsea dominated for long spells but very nearly lost, with Petr Cech saving a last-minute penalty from Clint Dempsey.
The draw leaves Chelsea fifth, two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth Champions League qualifying position, and 12 points behind leaders Manchester United with 12 games of the season remaining.
Fulham, meanwhile, are 12th, four points clear of the relegation zone.
After the failure of the diamond midfield in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool last week, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti opted for a return to 4-3-3, which meant Didier Drogba being left out for Torres.
Torres, though, having looked out of sorts on his debut after his 50-million-pound (80.2-million-dollar) move from Liverpool, was little better at Craven Cottage.
When David Luiz, another deadline-day signing, picked him out with a clever lofted pass just before half-time, Torres miscontrolled badly, allowing Mark Schwarzer to gather.
The only other chance of a first half higher on tenacity than quality was a mishit Nicolas Anelka cross that Schwarzer did well to tip over.
Surprisingly, when a change was made after 64 minutes, it was Anelka rather than Torres who was withdrawn, and Salomon Kalou rather than Drogba who came on.
Six minutes later, Torres did depart, and Drogba made his entrance.
Chelsea had more of the ball and the territorial advantage in the second half, but there was little in terms of goalmouth incident.
Luiz put a decent headed chance over, and Michael Essien couldn't quite get sufficient purchase on another header as the pressure became increasingly concerted. Not for the first time recently, Chelsea looked a side short of both dynamism and guile.
Fulham's massed defence, though, held out, and then, in the final minute of injury-time, Luiz tripped Dempsey to concede a penalty.
The US midfielder, though, hit his spot-kick straight at Cech, and Chelsea survived with a point.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire