It was not until the 85th minute that Stoke City scored the equaliser they deserved. A cross by the quick and elegant Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri from the right was only pushed out by Chelsea’s much-worked goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, enabling Mame Diouf to nod into the vacated net.
Even without their bulldozing centre back Ryan Shawcross, a talented Stoke team were very much a match for Chelsea. John Terry, watching from the stands, might well reflect that he could have substantially strengthened a defence often at odds with a quick and inventive visiting attack.
It was hardly a distinguished match, one in which Chelsea not only lacked Diego Costa and suffered for it, but brought on Cesc Fabregas only minutes from the end. They also, after 63 minutes, deployed Ruben Loftus-Cheek, that rarity a Chelsea youth product, just given the £60,000 per week contract at the age of 20. He had an excellent shooting chance, though a narrow angled one, from the left in the 82nd minute, but he could do no better than fire into the arms of Jack Butland.
As early as the 18th minute, when each side tested the opposing goalkeeper through Oscar and Ibrahim Afellay, it seemed it would be a match of busy goalkeepers and missed chances. Courtois was notionally culpable for Stoke’s equalising goal, but perhaps might be forgiven for the number of saves he had previously made.
Costa had a minor tendon injury and was no doubt being preserved for the Wednesday return game here against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. In his place, Chelsea deployed 20-year-old Bertrand Traore who, after a slightly uncertain beginning, surpassed himself with a forcefully taken goal. Pivoting on 39 minutes on the edge of the penalty box, he struck an irresistible shot with the outside of his left foot. Costa could scarcely have done any better.
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Chelsea remain undefeated in the Premiership with Guus Hiddink in charge. It was perhaps understandable and implicit, both in their selection and in their performance, that their attention was chiefly on the game in midweek.
Nevertheless, they fielded enough regular choices to suggest they could win this game. The amount of talent in this Stoke team was suggested by the fact that the skilful Bojan did not get on until the 74th minute.
If Chelsea arguably had the best player on show in the electric Willian, then Stoke had the elusive Shaqiri, while Marko Arnautovic came vigorously to life soon after the break.
Gianelli Imbula might have put Stoke ahead on 21 minutes, but he shot wastefully high. Traore, who now and again seemed out of his depth, had a close-range shot blocked on 32 minutes, seven minutes before his goal.
Late on, in the 90th minute, a shot by the overlapping Baba had Butland at full stretch and, in injury time, after fine work by Imbula, Bojan’s shot was saved by Courtois. Stoke threatened to the end.
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Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: “Actually we feel a bit hard done by.” Diouf’s goal? “A little bit of fortune, because I was just about to take him off!”
Hiddink bemoaned a claim for a penalty on Oscar.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Baba, Matic (Fàbregas 82), Mikel, Willian, Oscar, Hazard (Loftus-Cheek 63), Traore (Remy 68)
Stoke: Butland, Cameron, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Pieters, Whelan (Krkic 75), Imbula, Shaqiri, Afellay, Arnautovic (Ireland 90), Diouf (Joselu 86)