Stoke squeezed a point out of Stamford Bridge to keep ahead of Chelsea in the pursuit of a place in Europe next season.
Mame Diouf headed in late on to cancel out Bertrand Traore’s first-half beauty and stay three points ahead of last year’s champions, who would have overtaken them on goal difference had they won. There was no Diego Costa for Chelsea but it, at first, appeared to be no problem for manager Guus Hiddink as his replacement Traore put them in front.
Since he took over in December, Hiddink has been reeling in the the top five like he is big-game fishing on holiday in the Bahamian Bimini, cigar in one hand, rod in the other. Sat comfortably in Chelsea’s stern, he has had them on his hook and refused to let go, but this was a real setback.
Nonetheless, Hiddink set a new Premier League record by going 12 games unbeaten in the league since taking over, a feat unmatched by any new manager at a club.
During that highly-successful spell, Traore, 20, has emerged as a real challenger to Costa, who was rested as a precaution after suffering a minor tendon injury and is expected to be fit to face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. The goal was his fourth in five matches, the previous three all ending 5-1 to Chelsea, against MK Dons, Newcastle and Manchester City, but that unlikely series ended here when Stoke scored a late leveller.
How Diouf will have regretted at the break not converting two glorious first-half chances to put Stoke ahead, which would have made him a match-winner.
On 21 minutes, Ibrahim Afellay dribbled the ball at speed down the left as the visitors broke then sent in wonderful, early cross with the outside of his right boot.
Diouf ran in at the back post and had just to coax the ball under the bar, but he sent it over it instead. The ball from Afellay was so outrageous he injured himself pulling it off, but after lengthy treatment was able to continue.
With 10 minutes remaining before the break, Diouf was found again, this time from the opposite flank and by Xherdan Shaqiri who had raced down the right. Diouf was unmarked and volleyed towards the right of goal, but his effort bounced wide.
Stoke had come close again, through Afellay this time. The Dutchman found himself in space, 25 yards out, and put enough power and curve on a shot but it was a favourable height for Thibaut Courtois who dived and pushed it out for a corner.
But Chelsea had their chances, too, before taking the lead. After 18 minutes, Willian performed several step-overs before passing to Eden Hazard inside Stoke’s box, whose lightning-fast turn allowed him to get a shot away, low and across Jack Butland’s goal, but the Stoke goalkeeper dived to his right and held the ball, with Traore lurking to tap in anything spilled.
Ten minutes later, Marco Arnautovic was caught on the ball by Cesar Azpilicueta inside his own half and the Chelsea full-back fed Brazilian Willian who narrowly missed the top left corner from outside the box.
But just before the break, Traore went for that same corner and found it perfectly. Nemanja Matic passed into the 20-year-old who had his back to goal on the edge of the penalty area but turned to his left, making space to shoot, before unleashing past Butland.
Both these sides break very effectively and very quickly and heads turned from side to side in the second half. Arnautovic got a powerful shot away from distance which Courtois could not hold and up the other end Hazard’s clever Cruyff turn eluded Philipp Wollscheid enough for him to shot hard and across goal, but just wide.
Courtois saved again, just before the hour, as Shaqiri dribbled across Chelsea’s penalty are and into it before shooting back across goal. The Chelsea goalkeeper was at full stretch to tip it around the post. Straight back up the other end, Traore carried the ball well into Stoke’s half, passed to Willian who powered an effort that Butland forced around the post.
Stoke deserved to get something from the game and equalised with five minutes remaining. Shaqiri made another burst down the right, his cross was pushed out by Courtois but Diouf finally managed to put a chance in the back of the net and headed in the rebound.
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