Chelsea’s title hopes begin to fade as Blues held to 1-1 draw

LONDON - Reuters

Chelsea’s faltering title challenge suffered another blow when the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by neighbors Fulham yesterday at Stamford Bridge to register their third successive draw in the Premier League.

The Blues took the lead through Juan Mata who lashed in a left-foot shot after 47 minutes but Fulham, who has not won at Chelsea since 1979, equalized with a close-range Clint Dempsey goal nine minutes later.

The visitors played the better football for the rest of the match and left with a well-earned point.
Since beating leaders Manchester City on Dec. 12, Chelsea has drawn at Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur and yesterday’s result left the team in fourth place on 34 points from 18 games -- 10 behind City. Tottenham Hotspur, who is third, visits Norwich City tonight.

Arsenal hosts Wolves, while Swansea takes on Queens Park Rangers in tonight’s other matches.