Chelsea 1-1 Fulham | Premier League match report

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.4/58783?ns=guardian&pageName=Chelsea+1-1+Fulham+%7C+Premier+League+match+report%3AArticle%3A1681252&ch=Football&c3=Guardian&c4=Premier+League+2011-12%2CChelsea+%28Football%29%2CFulham+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CEuropa+League%2CPremier+League&c6=Dominic+Fifield&c7=11-Dec-26&c8=1681252&c9=Article&c10=Match+report&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FFootball%2FPremier+League+2011-12" width="1" height="1" /></div><p>Sloppiness has set into Chelsea's title pursuit yet again. If André Villas-Boas had justifiably drawn encouragement from last week's performance in drawing at White Hart Lane, then this stalemate will have eroded any gathering sense of optimism. For long periods, particularly in the opening period here, the hosts were far too disjointed for comfort. Should Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday in a rearranged fixture, Chelsea will find themselves out of the top four.</p><p>As impressive as Fulham were in nullifying and wounding the hosts on the break, this all felt horribly inadequate for the majority present. Lethargy had infected the home side's initial performance. Fernando Torres, a player still with more Premier League goals for Liverpool in the calendar year than for his new club, had been granted a first start since October, but he remained peripheral and frustrated while the game passed him by. He ended up wide right in a front three with Chelsea rather desperate in search of a winner.</p><p>They had at least shrugged themselves awake quicker after their first-half torpor, Torres doing well to collect Ashley Cole's pass and hold off Philippe Senderos on the edge of the area before touching the ball down to Juan Mata. The Spaniard's snapped finish curled gloriously into the corner, the presumption being that the opener would then spark an avalanche. Instead, Fulham's response was swift. Bryan Ruiz twisted and turned away from Cole as Chelsea heaved to clear their lines and the Costa Rican's fizzed centre was touched in by Clint Dempsey, squeezing between the tentative Petr Cech and David Luiz.</p><p>Parity felt merited. Fulham, a side seeking recovery from a 5-0 home drubbing by Manchester United, had kept and, arguably, used the ball more productively through the first period, gleaning chances for Mousa Dembélé and Orlando Sa that were spurned. Their line-up had appeared both depleted – Bobby Zamora, who is expected to leave next month, was absent apparently with Achilles trouble – and bold. WHile a trio of defensive midfielders started on the bench, Danny Murphy anchored the centre alone and a quintet of attack-minded players operated ahead of him. Even so, the visitors were never gung-ho, their threat more persuasive on the break as the game drifted on.</p><p>There was more Chelsea urgency as the prospect of dropped points loomed ever larger, Raul Meireles twice coming close to prising back the lead, David Stockdale instinctively denied Florent Malouda, and the substitute Didier Drogba forced the goalkeeper into another fine save at his near post. When Malouda's hopeful shot exploded through the England squad player's attempt to claim, the ball looped agonisingly on to the roof of the net. With it went Chelsea's chances of claiming the victory they so desperately needed.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premier-league-2011-12">Premier League 2011-12</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chelsea">Chelsea</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/fulham">Fulham</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague">Premier League</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/dominicfifield">Dominic Fifield</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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