Football: Plucky hosts hold Chelsea to 1-1 draw

Coach Jose Mourinho was angry when his appeal, after Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas (front) was fouled by Southampton's Matt Targett, was dismissed. Photo / AP

Man City’s 2-2 lockup with Burnley relief for Mourinho after draw at Southampton.

Jose Mourinho's mood may have marginally improved when he left his post-match press conference and learned that Manchester City had drawn at home with Burnley.

That surprise result from the Etihad Stadium - the equaliser came just as Mourinho was discussing Chelsea being denied a penalty - meant the gap between City and Chelsea at the top of the Premier League stayed at three points, rather than contracting to just one, and Chelsea's failure to win at Southampton was less costly than it might have been.

Chelsea, kicking off an hour before City, had just stumbled to a 1-1 draw with an impressively resilient Southampton side. Mourinho's men were poor in the first half and had gone behind only for Eden Hazard, seemingly carrying the whole team on his shoulders, to drag them back with a brilliant equaliser just before the break.

For all of Chelsea's attacking pressure in the second half, though, they could not find a winner. Their best opportunity came when Matt Targett tripped Cesc Fabregas in the box, but referee Anthony Taylor booked Fabregas for simulation. This was what sparked Mourinho's post-match fury, not just with the "scandal" of the unawarded penalty, but with what he called a "campaign" against his team, denying them penalties they had earned and ignoring the transgressions of their rivals.

It was quite a performance from Mourinho, but understandably so. This was the type of marginal misfortune that decides tight games. And this was the type of tight game that decides tight seasons. Chelsea were away from home, against a good team, back on the pitch just 48 hours after their last match. This was a real test of their resources and the evidence on the pitch was that they didn't quite have enough. Or rather, they didn't have enough to render the officiating irrelevant.

In the first half, Chelsea looked slower and sloppier than their brisk, inventive hosts. It was a Chelsea team set up to counter-attack but Southampton's willingness to sit deep caught Chelsea unawares. With Diego Costa not at his sharpest - this is his first Christmas programme - Chelsea were more reliant than ever on the incision of Hazard and Fabregas.

Southampton's first half was better. Ronald Koeman couldn't field his first-choice team, with fullbacks Nathaniel Clyne and Ryan Bertrand injured and ineligible respectively.

Seventeen minutes in, they took the lead. Saido Mane raced away from John Terry, who was caught out of place, and his confident finish beat Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea had yet to start playing and Southampton looked more likely to score before the break. With the final attack of the first half, though, Chelsea pulled level. Fabregas clipped a perfect pass into the inside left channel and Hazard raced on to it. Facing part-time right back Maya Yoshida, Hazard darted inside, dummied rather than shooting, came inside beyond Toby Alderweireld and found the far corner of the net. It was a brilliant individual goal, from a player determined to deliver his team the three points all by himself.

Once Mourinho put Willian on for Schurrle at halftime, Chelsea had more attacking options and they started to force Southampton back into their penalty area. Both Fonte and Alderweireld had to block shots from Willian before the Targett-Fabregas tangle - a clear trip and a foul - that so incensed Mourinho. There were 35 minutes left after that, but Chelsea could not score the winner they thought they deserved.

The best chance came when James Ward-Prowse underhit a back pass straight to Costa, who lost his footing. After that, they had possession and territory but couldn't make a clear chance. Hazard shot just wide, Drogba failed off a Hazard cross, and could not meet a ball which Fabregas hit across the box.

On another day Chelsea might have found a winner but they did not, and looked at the end like they missed the imagination of Oscar, who was ill. "We tried everything, we dominated and we created a lot," Mourinho said. "We played well."

Southampton gave everything, especially after Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off for a second yellow card, and clung on to an important point.

"One point against Chelsea is like maybe three against another team," smiled Koeman. "I'm proud of the organisation and the spirit in the team."

- Independent