Defiant West Ham Ensure Chelsea Slip Again

Gianfranco Zola returned to Stamford Bridge and watched his West Ham side keep Chelsea off the top of the Barclays Premier League by holding them to a draw.

The struggling Hammers stunned Chelsea when Craig Bellamy put them ahead in the 33rd minute with a well-taken shot from 12 yards.

Chelsea leveled in the 50th minute when Nicolas Anelka pounced for his 16th goal of the season and his 100th Premier League goal overall but the home side failed to win at Stamford Bridge in the league for the third game in succession.

Chelsea's football was too intricate and on several occasions their pretty one-touch game failed to provide an end result. Former Hammers Frank Lampard and Joe Cole were the main culprits as they tried to find a way through the West Ham rearguard with too many short passes.

But Chelsea's woeful home record worsened in the 33rd minute when Zola's struggling side went ahead against the run of play and in controversial circumstances.

Mark Noble looked to have used his arm before crossing the ball for Bellamy to fire the visitors in front from 12 yards. Michael Ballack was incensed by Mike Riley's decision to allow the goal to stand and was shown a yellow card for protesting.

Chelsea's domestic record at Stamford Bridge had seen them lose two out of the last three and they were visibly shaken by West Ham's opening goal.

West Ham, their confidence clearly boosted by Bellamy's goal, enjoyed the longest spell of possession as the interval approached.

But in the 45th minute Nicolas Anelka finally tested Green with an 18-yard shot that was dealt with comfortably by the West Ham 'keeper.

Chelsea were booed off at half-time and Scolari, clearly frustrated with Chelsea's lack of a cutting edge, replaced Ballack with Didier Drogba at the interval.

Drogba hardly had time to get into the game before top scorer Anelka supplied the equalizer in the 50th minute.

For once Chelsea's neat approach play paid off with Mikel and Drogba combining before Lampard chipped the ball neatly into Anelka's path, and he coolly slotted the ball underneath the advancing Robert Green for his 16th goal of the season.

Chelsea were now on top and when Matthew Upson failed to clear a cross, Lampard sent the rebound into Green's midriff from the edge of the penalty area. West Ham, for the first time in the game, had little option but to defend ever deeper.

The visitors were happy to soak up the pressure on the edge of their own penalty area but that only invited Chelsea to try their luck from distance.

West Ham escaped in the 78th minute when Green punched a Lampard corner towards his own goal but it was headed off the line by Parker.

However, Green was the hero seconds later when he flung himself across goal to keep out a header from Alex.

Referee Riley then failed to award Chelsea a penalty when Lampard was felled by Lucas Neill but it needed a smart save from Petr Cech to deny Carlton Cole an injury-time winner after he broke clear on goal.