Chelsea missed the chance to ensure they would stay ahead of English Premier League title rivals Arsenal at the end of the midweek fixtures as Victor Anichebe’s late goal saw West Brom hold them to a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns.
Branislav Ivanovic had given Chelsea the lead in first-half stoppage him, when he got on the end of a David Luiz set-piece. One nil up away from home, I expected Chelsea to see this one out and pick up all three points, but West Brom really pushed Chelsea in the second half and when Anichebe headed past Petr Cech in the 87th minute to secure a valuable point for the struggling Baggies it was nothing more than they deserved.
Ten days ago it was all gloom and doom at Upton Park after the Hammers had been on the wrong end of a couple of thumpings. But on Tuesday they beat fellow strugglers Norwich 2-0, with James Collins beating John Ruddy to head home the opener and Mohamed Diame adding the second in stoppage time. It was the Hammers’ third win in a row and lifted them to tenth in the table, with the Canaries just two points clear of the bottom three.
Elsewhere, Southampton beat Hull 1-0 after a goalmouth scramble resulted in Jose Fonte being awarded the only goal of the game. Southampton defender Fonte had a header well saved before Jay Rodriguez’s follow-up was blocked. The ball fell to Fonte, whose shot was cleared, although it went over the line, with goal-line technology later awarding it to Fonte despite Rickie Lambert’s blast home.
In the other game, Cardiff drew 0-0 against Aston Villa at the Cardiff City Stadium to remain in the bottom three.