Nicolas Anelka scored his 14th goal of the season on Sunday to save Chelsea from an embarrassing home defeat to West Ham and earned a 1-1 draw.
Anelka equalised six minutes into the second half after Craig Bellamy had scored to put Chelsea, which needed victory to overtake Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, in danger of a third home defeat of the season.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari had to bring on striker Didier Drogba for the second half after it took his team almost 45 minutes to draw a single save from West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green — and the change worked almost immediately.
With Drogba’s presence seeming to occupy the West Ham defence, Anelka collected a delicate pass over the top from former Hammers midfielder Frank Lampard and shot through Green’s legs — becoming the 16th player to score 100 Premier League goals.
And Drogba almost won it for Chelsea midway through the second half with a header that was going in until Green dropped down to stop it at the post and push the ball out for a corner.
”It was a difficult game for us,” Scolari said. ”We had more time with the ball but we only scored one goal. If we have more quality on the last shot, we would win this game.”
Chelsea dominated the closing stages and forced West Ham midfielder Scott Parker to head the ball off the line before Lampard unsuccessfully claimed he deserved a penalty for a trip by Lucas Neill.
”There was contact but I don’t think I could have got out of the way,” Neill said. ”It was just a collision.”
West Ham then had a chance to give manager Gianfranco Zola — who in 2003 was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player — victory but Carlton Cole shot too close to Petr Cech with only the Blues goalkeeper to beat.
”Being an old Chelsea boy, he would have loved to have done it,” Neill said. ”He was probably thinking of celebrating before he scored.”
Second-place Chelsea has 37 points, one behind Liverpool, which drew 2-2 with Hull on Saturday.
Defending champion Manchester United drew 0-0 with Tottenham on Saturday and is five points further back in third.
With Chelsea uncharacteristically vulnerable at home this season, West Ham seemed to sense the possibility of following Liverpool and Arsenal in winning at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have now won just three of nine home matches.
”When we play here, it’s different to the way we play away,” Scolari said.
”Away we have more space. Maybe now we are now thinking that this is our home. I don’t know what’s happened.”
The Hammers had just one win from their previous 10 games but matched Chelsea through a scrappy first half, with former Blues striker Cole occupying the home defence with his physical play.
Bellamy put the visitors ahead in the 33rd with a 12m half volley from Mark Noble’s cross, although Chelsea captain John Terry was booked for complaining too persistently to the referee that both players had handled the ball during the build-up.
Zola did not celebrate Bellamy’s goal out of respect for his former club.
”The first 10 or 15 minutes the crowd was singing my name,” Zola said. ”It’s fantastic that they did not forget. I’m just sorry I did not wave.”
The result left West Ham 16th in the standings, trailing on goal difference to Tottenham and Newcastle, which beat Portsmouth 3-0 Sunday to move out of the relegation zone.
Although Newcastle went into the match in 18th place with just three wins, it created far more chances than the hosts and eventually converted when Michael Owen flicked the ball over goalkeeper David James in the 52nd.
Obafemi Martins made it 2-0 in the 77th and Danny Guthrie completed the scoring with a side-footed finish from just inside the area into the top of the net.
”We’ve been playing solidly now for a few weeks,” said Owen, who has seven goals this season.
”Once we got one (goal), they had to come out a bit and we picked them off.”
Martins almost put Newcastle ahead in the 20th with a shot from 25m that swerved past the outstretched arm of James but hit the post.
James then saved a shot by fullback Jose Enrique that was bound for the top corner. — Sapa-AP