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Premier race wide open after Chelsea held to 1-1
Arsenal’s Wenger was right when he said Chelsea was a team that could drop points
West Ham 1 Chelsea 1. Only three weeks ago people were saying the title race was over. A Guardian poll revealed that 40 per cent of readers thought so, reckoning that Chelsea's five-point lead over their rivals was unassailable. Arsenal had just been trounced 3-0 at the Emirates and the Blues had ground out victories against Liverpool and Manchester United in the preceding weeks.
No wonder Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti felt confident enough to declare after the Arsenal win that "I believe we will win the title". As for the Gunners, they were 11 points behind their London rivals and as Wenger admitted: "At the moment our title race has taken a big blow." That wasn't Wenger's only comment, however. He also said: "Chelsea are in a very strong position, but this team for me can still drop points. I'm convinced of that."
At the time few others shared Wenger's conviction, but three weeks is a long time in football and the Chelsea of late December are a shadow of the Chelsea of late November. Now, with Ancelotti's team only four points clear of United and only six ahead of Arsenal - but with Gunners having a game in hand - people are starting to wonder if Chelsea have failed to heed one of the game's most enduring clichés: the premier league is a marathon, not a sprint.
In the four matches since the Arsenal victory, Chelsea have taken just five points from a possible 12 on offer (draws with Everton and West Ham and a scrappy win over bottom-placed Portsmouth), while Manchester United have fared little better, totting up six points with wins against West Ham and a second-string Wolves set against defeats to Villa and Fulham.
Arsenal, on the other hand, all but written off as title contenders three weeks ago, are unbeaten in the last month. Victories against Stoke, Liverpool and Hull, and a 1-1 draw away at Burnley, have given the Gunners 10 points from a possible 12. Suddenly Wenger's boys are right back in the race.
The visit of Aston Villa to the Emirates on December 27 gives Arsenal the chance to dent the title aspirations of the Midlands side, currently level on points with Arsenal. Three days later Arsenal travel to Portsmouth where three points are there for the taking. Chelsea, meanwhile travel to Birmingham on Boxing Day, where the home fans haven't seen their side lose since September, and then face a tricky test at the Bridge against in-form Fulham.
If Chelsea are to take maximum points in the local derby they know they'll have to play better than they did in Sunday's 1-1 draw against cash-strapped West Ham. The Hammers, propping up the table above Portsmouth, came out firing from the start and in such a febrile atmosphere it was no surprise both goals came from the penalty spot.
Chelsea had started the brightest with Frank Lampard forcing a sharp save from Robert Green on seven minutes and Branislav Ivanovic seeing his header cleared off the line by Scott Parker. But it was the Hammers who took the lead when Ashley Cole brought down Jack Collinson in the box a minute before the interval. Alessandro Diamanti sent Petr Cech the wrong way to give the home side a 1-0 half-time lead.
Chelsea's second-half equaliser was mired in controversy from the moment Frank Lampard fed substitute Daniel Sturridge, who went down in the box from what appeared to be a well-timed tackle from Matthew Upson. Referee Mike Dean's initial reaction suggested he found nothing wrong with the challenge but his assistant waved his flag to indicate a foul.
Then the drama turned to farce as Dean made Lampard take the penalty three times because of players encroaching into the area as the Chelsea man stepped up to the spot. Lampard kept his nerve each time to draw his side level and earn a share of the points, though West Ham might have had a second penalty ten minutes from time when Ricardo Carvalho shoved Franco.
Across the capital at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal had made a far easier job of beating Hull 3-0 on Saturday, with goals from Denilson - a curling free kick into the top right corner on the stroke of halftime - Eduardo and Diaby. ·
