16) Chelsea Fc 1 - 1 Arsenal

Mon, 11th Dec 2006 Closing minutes are rarely more dramatic than in this London derby as the woodwork twice denied Chelsea from turning a game that had been drifting away into a home win. Michael Essien's best goal of his Chelsea career on 84 minutes rescued a well-deserved point for Jose Mourinho's side, the Blues having already hit the post in the first-half and seen a very good penalty appeal turned down. Yet when Matthieu Flamini put the visitors ahead on 78 minutes, it looked very much as if Chelsea superiority would go unrewarded and the visitors would become the first away side to win at the Bridge in the top flight since they themselves left victorious in February 2004. It can even be argued the Essien goal had added to the bizarre sequence of unlikely fullback scorers in this fixture - the African having dropped to right-back in the second-half as Chelsea changed shape to push for the win. But he started in his normal berth. Jose Mourinho kept faith with the side that has served him well in recent big games although Carlo Cudicini had failed to recover sufficiently from his thigh strain so Hilario was given a consecutive start. The best early move saw Drogba chest down a Makelele pass to a well-placed Ballack but Drogba had pulled into an offside position. However it was Arsenal who had the better share of possession in the opening ten minutes and forced the first two corners. It was first points to Drogba in the much-anticipated duel between him and Senderos as the Swiss centre-back resorted to a foul after he was deceived by a clever touch behind him. On 15 minutes, Shevchenko cut in from the right and curled a shot towards the corner that lacked the power to trouble Lehmann. A Ballack effort was not wanting for velocity when he fired in from 30 yards soon after but this time the direction wasn't there - but only by a few inches as the shot whistled past the post. Then on 17 minutes Chelsea struck the upright - the ball falling loose in the area for Lampard to hook a shot in. It clipped off Shevchenko on its way to striking the woodwork with Lehmann rooted.

Drogba then blasted over in a good short spell for the Blues. The Chelsea top scorer was looking strong and ambitious although his best work was coming a distance away from goal. On 23 minutes came the first flash of controversy. Ashley Cole, in a sliding challenge on Hleb, was a fraction late and fouled the winger 15 yards inside the Chelsea half. Referee Wiley went for his cards, the Chelsea bench on their feet and incensed before the yellow was even produced. The question has to be asked whether the foul would have drawn a caution for any other player in this game, or in any other match for Cole. The temperature rose a degree more two minutes later when Fabregas clipped Drogba late but was only spoken to. On 33 minutes the best opening of the half came Chelsea's way. Geremi supplied a low cross, Drogba, battling hard, diverted the ball back but Essien from ten years out blasted over. Gilberto was closing quickly with a challenge but in all honestly, there could be no excuse for the miss. On 37 minutes Essien did fire on target - low after Lehmann had made a major hash of dealing with a Lampard corner but Fabregas hacked the ball off the line. A sharp move between Shevchenko and Cole lacked the right man in the right place when the ball was played dangerously across before a couple of questionable decisions had Mourinho and assistants angrily on their feet again. Those were the final incidents of a first-half that had started cautiously for the home side but had ended with plenty for Arsene Wenger to be concerned over. Chelsea needed to ask themselves why Arsenal's stand-in centre-back pair had not been more exposed. The rain, that had been falling lightly throughout the whole of the opening half was a lot heavier by the start of the second. Tackles needed to be increasingly well judged. Four minutes in, a Lampard free-kick sought out the forehead of Drogba but he flicked the ball over. On 54 minutes, Flamini became the first Arsenal booking for catching Lampard. Two more bookings would follow before ten further minutes were up in the game's major flash point.

Drogba had a huge claim for a penalty when first pulled and then scythed down by Senderos as the striker fielded a high ball with back-to-goal. Drogba's animated protest was too much for Lehmann who stuck his nose, or more accurately, his shoulder into someone else's business. Drogba flopped to the turf, got up and barged into the Arsenal keeper who then went-atumbling. It was all a little comic - and very football 2006. Both protagonists were booked, the penalty that wasn't given seemingly forgotten in the fuss. Mourinho decided to make a double switch on 66 minutes. Robben and Wright-Phillips came on for Shevchenko and Geremi. Drogba would now attack the two centre-backs more directly in a 4-3-3 shape. On 70 minutes Lehmann distinguished himself rather better after a Senderos howler, saving first from Robben on the run and then from Lampard in the same attack. Robben's introduction had opened up the game immensely, the Dutchman firing across goal after sprinting through just minutes later. The Arsenal goal came with 13 minutes to go - Flamini playing the ball right from the edge of the area to Hleb and then receiving the return unmarked. Hilario got hands to the shot but could not keep it out. For a Chelsea side that had reduced the visitors to long-range shooting in the second period, it was a sickening lapse. Drogba, collecting a Makelele ball, fired wide under heavy pressure from Lehmann and he then headed wide from a Robben cross - this one a much clearer opening. Had Chelsea blown it? Not quite! The next attack was going nowhere when Lampard played the ball back into Essien's path 35 yards out. The shot was the sweetest the Ghanaian has struck in a Chelsea shirt - if not in his whole career. Think Gallas versus Spurs but 15 yards further out. It rocketed past Lehmann. It couldn't have been better placed. Helb almost made the Blues pay again for loose defending, shooting over unmarked to his manager's fury.

Then came the incredible four minutes of stoppage time as Chelsea struck woodwork for the second and third times in the game. Essien was first - scooping Ballack's header onto the underside of the bar from five yards out as the tackles came in. Then when Lehmann spilled Robben's tame shot, Lampard pounced, turned but struck the base of the post. Agony! Chelsea players threw themselves to the floor. Seconds later referee Wiley whistled as Stamford Bridge caught its breath and worked out the implications on the title race. Two points dropped to Man United this weekend but a point more than the league leaders gained from their home game against Arsenal. This story has far to go. Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Hilario; Geremi (Wright-Phillips 66), Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Makelele; Essien, Lampard; Ballack; Shevchenko (Robben 66), Drogba. Scorer Essien 84 Booked Cole 22, Drogba 64 Arsenal (4-5-1): Lehmann; Eboue, Djourou, Senderos, Clichy; Hleb, Fabregas, Silva, Flamini, van Persie (Ljungberg 82); Abedayor. Scorer Flamini 78 Booked Flamini 54, Lehmann 64