Chelsea 1 Fulham 1:THE ADMISSION hardly felt revelatory. Andre Villas-Boas surveyed another costly stalemate and a stalled title pursuit and merely stated the obvious.
“It’ll be pretty difficult, to be fair,” said the Portuguese. “The distance is too far between us and the Manchester clubs for us to challenge for the Premier League.” Chelsea no longer consider themselves contenders.
Times really have changed at this club when a manager can declare the team out of the running even before the campaign has reached its halfway point but realism is biting. Villas-Boas has been charged with revitalising and rejuvenating this squad and that process has taken its toll on short-term prospects. The summit is still a distant 11 points away, with rivals closer to challenging. Should Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers today, Chelsea will even be out of the top four.
There have been too many occasions such as this, when opponents have merited at least the point they have accrued, already this season. Fulham, thrashed 5-0 at home by Manchester United last week, arrived with a makeshift if bold selection which should have rendered them vulnerable, not least in central midfield where attackers filled in for steelier absentees. A blistering start from Chelsea might have settled the contest but that never materialised.
The hosts were lethargic before the break and sloppy once they had prised out a lead. This felt like an opportunity missed.
Chelsea had followed up inflicting Manchester City’s first defeat of the campaign by dropping points at lowly Wigan, so there was always the possibility of stumbling after they impressed in gaining a draw at Tottenham Hotspur last week. The late flurry of chances created – and denied by the excellent David Stockdale in Fulham’s goal – was deceptive.
Fulham might even have won in stoppage time but Pajtim Kasami’s attempt was stifled. They still departed hugely encouraged while their hosts licked their wounds.
A tally of 34 points in 18 games would normally leave a team such as this in contention.
“But with City and United continuing to get the points they are getting at the moment, it’ll be difficult,” said Villas-Boas. “That is the perspective we have to make at the moment. Difficult. Not impossible. But maybe the Premiership is over for us at the moment. There is always tension for you to get results in a massive club like this one but you have to be real. You cannot live under false expectations when the gap is this big.”
That was said before City’s draw at The Hawthorns but, even so, there are too many teams between Chelsea and the top for them to feel close. Rather the process of evolution will continue.
Gary Cahill will arrive in the new year from Bolton Wanderers, with potentially one other signing to follow – more significant reshaping of the squad will have to wait until the summer – with the manager’s principal consolation being the excellence of some of the additions he has made at this club.
Juan Mata scored his team’s goal here, a wonderfully snapped finish from Fernando Torres’s strong control and astute lay-off. Raul Meireles and Oriol Romeu, not for the first time, also impressed.
More troubling was the negligible impact made by Frank Lampard and Torres’s inability to engineer himself any personal reward.
One smart collection on his chest and volley was blocked by Stockdale but that was as close as he came on his first start since October. The Spaniard still has more league goals for Liverpool (four) in 2011 than for Chelsea (three) since his €60 million arrival 11 months ago. Didier Drogba may not be as powerful a presence as he once was but he still offers greater bite and a focal point for this team.
Stockdale denied the Ivorian near the end, a save that typified his excellence throughout.
Fulham imposed themselves early on when Moussa Dembele and Orlando Sa might have scored. Once they were behind their response was swift: Bryan Ruiz teased space from Ashley Cole to centre and Clint Dempsey slid in to convert ahead of a tentative Petr Cech and David Luiz.
This draw, a rarity for Fulham at bitter rivals, was achieved without Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora, the pair having succumbed to groin and Achilles injuries in training on Christmas Eve. The latter is still expected to leave next month and will need to be properly replaced but this was a display to suggest the defeat by United had been an aberration.
“We’ve shown we can take on these good teams,” said Martin Jol. In contrast, if Villas-Boas is to be believed, nobody should be betting on Chelsea recovering to mount a title challenge.
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