Chelsea 1-1 West Ham: Blues' home form undermines their title challenge

Come on, doesn't anybody want to win this title?

It sure looks that way as Chelsea's fear of home failure submerged them again and leaves Liverpool still atop the summit.

With Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all slipping, this was the Blues' big opportunity.

Instead, even after Didier Drogba came off the bench to show Luiz Felipe Scolari DOES have a Plan B, Chelsea's limitations were again displayed. And had Carlton Cole kept his head in added time they would have been plunged into true despair.

That fate was avoided, with Nicolas Anelka's smart equaliser cancelling out Craig Bellamy's first-half strike as Gianfranco Zola left Scolari with more than just his kidney stone to worry about.

But 14 points dropped out of 27 on home soil - as many as in the whole of last season already - tells a tale that cannot be ignored.

Eight wins out of eight is evidence of a side irresistible on their travels. Yet home is where the heart of a title challenge is laid down and once more Chelsea lacked the ruthless edge that was the trademark of Jose Mourinho.

Even Anelka's beautifullycrafted 16th goal of the season, the perfect response to Drogba's introduction, could not propel Chelsea to the victory they expected, as West Ham secured the point that kept them out of the drop zone.

And they deserved it too, even if Lucas Neill could have thrown all that hard work away with a reckless lunge to send Frank Lampard tumbling two minutes from time.

But if Mike Riley had spotted the foul, it would have been tough on Zola and his players, especially the magnificent Scott Parker.

Parker's spell at Chelsea summed up the madness of the Abramovich years, signed on the basis of a Boxing Day display against the Blues and jettisoned 18 months later after barely getting a chance.

But the midfielder showed drive and determination as he spent 90 minutes on a oneman search-and-destroy mission every time Chelsea probed.

That resolve was rewarded 12 minutes before the break, as Mark Noble got away from Michael Ballack and Jose Bosingwa down the left to pull back to Bellamy. John Terry, struggling after an early knock, opted to stand off rather than throw himself in front of Bellamy, leaving the door open for the Welshman to drill past Petr Cech as Ballack called in yellow cardearning vain for a free-kick.

It was Ballack's last contribution, sacrificed as Drogba came on at the break and Chelsea finally had support for Anelka, with the leveller coming within five minutes.

Lampard played in to John Obi Mikel and hurtled forward, taking Drogba's lay-off to clip into the space behind Calum Davenport and Herita Ilunga, with Anelka poking through Robert Green's legs. Chelsea remained vulnerable, Cole failing to make proper contact six yards out, before seeing off a weak challenge from Alex but firing across the target.

The momentum had changed. Green did well to turn aside a thunderous Drogba volley before demonstrating his Jekyll and Hyde make-up in 20 seconds.

Under pressure from Terry, Green punched Lampard's corner towards his own net where he was bailed out by a combination of Parker - who else? - and the bar. But when the ensuing scramble resulted in Bosingwa picking out Alex with a free header, Green responded superbly to claw the ball away. Still time for more drama. Carlton Cole showed why he will never be the player he thinks he is as he allowed Cech to save after Alex embarrassed himself again.

Even so, it was theWest Ham fans celebrating as jeers rang round the Bridge, although the biggest cheer would have been on United's flight when they landed in Tokyo and heard the news.

Chelsea : Cech 6, Bosingwa 7, Alex 5, Terry 6, A Cole 6, Mikel 7 (Belletti 69, 6), J Cole 7 (Kalou 74, 6), Ballack 5 (Drogba 46, 7), Lampard 6, Deco 6, Anelka 6.

West Ham : Green 7, Neill 6, Davenport 6, Upson 7, Ilunga 6, Collison 6 (Boa Morte 87), Parker 8, Noble 7 (Mullins 72, 6), Behrami 7, C Cole 6, Bellamy 7 (Di Michele 90).

Referee : Mike Riley
Attendance : 41,675

MAN OF THE MATCH (Worth an extra two Fantasy League points) Scott Parker (WEST HAM) 8 Maybe Roman Abramovich might consider buying him

VILLAIN OF THE MATCH Alex (CHELSEA) 5 Says he want to leave. Doesn't deserve to stay on this form

ANORAK The point ended West Ham's run of seven straight defeats against Chelsea in all competitions

Get your hands on this week's estimated jackpot of £100,000 by playing the New Football Pools .

Find out what our resident Premier League fan bloggers think - and let them know your views.

Follow every Premier League game live with our brilliant Match Tracker .