Chelsea finished frantically but were unable to prevent Blackburn Rovers from claiming a point in a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park on Sunday.
Didier Drogba wasted no time in putting Chelsea ahead, and he had his strike partner Nicolas Anelka to thank. The Frenchman broke down the Chelsea right and sent in an exquisite cross, with Drogba on hand to sidefoot past Jason Brown for his 28th goal of the season.
Far from going on a scoring spree, Chelsea were subjected to a physical approach by Blackburn, with 18-year-old debutant Phil Jones particularly impressive at the back.
The first half ended with substitution of Branislav Ivanovic, who ended up the worse off after tangling with El-Hadji Diouf.
The impressive Florent Malouda tried a long range effort fifteen minutes into the half but saw his effort sail past the Blackburn goal, and Chelsea were made to pay for their profligacy in the 70th minute.
Michel Salgado whipped in a dangerous cross and Diouf got the better of Paulo Ferreira to head home.
In the final minutes Chelsea launched an onslaught towards the Rovers goal but Christopher Samba and Jones stood tall, with Chelsea unable to find a winner.