Chelsea might know a little about the limbo that claimed Benjani Mwaruwari on transfer deadline. Given a rare chance to close the gap on Manchester United, if not Arsenal, Chelsea were left in no man’s land after Jermain Defoe, inevitably, had cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s goal yesterday at Fratton Park.
Chelsea do not often let leads slip, least of all to Portsmouth, who were claiming their first point in 10 Premier League games against the London side.
Mwaruwari was marooned in a Manchester hotel awaiting a decision on his fate. In his absence, Defoe took 64 minutes to begin the payback on his £9m transfer from Tottenham and could have crowned his debut with a winner, blazing over from 15 yards and chipping another chance over Petr Cech but just wide in a pulsating final quarter. Both Coles, Joe and Ashley, had chances to claim a club record 10th straight victory for Chelsea.
It has been a crazy week at Portsmouth, but with Defoe and Milan Baros, making his home debut, providing a sharper edge to Harry Redknapp’s new-look side, Portsmouth will expect to renew their challenge for a place in Europe next season.
With Avram Grant, his former technical director at Fratton Park, alongside him, Redknapp laid down Chelsea’s title credentials rather more forcefully than the quietly spoken Israeli. “No Lampard, no Terry, no Drogba, no Essien and they won nine on the spin,” said the Portsmouth manager. “Carvalho was out today. When they all come back, they’ll get stronger and stronger. This championship is a long way from being over.”
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Chelsea will echo those sentiments, but Frank Lampard and John Terry can not return soon enough given the staccato nature of their performance yesterday. Ricardo Carvalho, who was suspended, would surely not have been out-jumped by the diminutive Baros before Defoe’s equaliser. Alex and Tal Ben-Haim, both six-footers, should hold their heads in shame. But Chelsea could not argue with the outcome after Howard Webb had ignored a handball in the penalty area by Juliano Belletti midway through the first half.
After a quiet first half, illuminated only by the energy and creativity of Lassana Diarra and a header by Noe Pamarot that crashed against the post, both sides shed their inhibitions after the break. “A draw is not enough for us,” said Grant. “We had more chances to win the game, but we played against a very good team. All the top teams have found it difficult here.”
When Chelsea did take the lead, it was a goal of Arsenal-like speed and precision with just a touch of good fortune. Momentarily distracted by claims for handball by Claude Makealele, Portsmouth were slow to track back and when a long cross by Florent Malouda found Joe Cole on the right of the Portsmouth penalty area, his neat, volleyed pass was turned home from close range by Anelka.
Within 10 minutes, though, they were feting a new hero. It had to be. Yet, even Defoe might wonder how Baros managed to fend off Chelsea’s central defenders and plant a header straight into his path 10 yards out.
Presented with the sort of opportunity that brought him 43 goals for Tottenham, Defoe rolled the ball past Cech with a true striker’s confidence.
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Level and sensing a shock, Portsmouth pushed on for all three points, leaving themselves wide open for a swift counter-thrust. Grant also gambled, replacing Malouda with the more direct Claudio Pizarro and pushing Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had begun the first half in a roving central role, back to his usual station on the right wing. Nico Kranjcar, playing behind the front two strikers for an hour, constantly probed Chelsea’s back line, but it was Diarra driving forward from midfield that threatened to turn the game decisively in favour of the home side.
“From the moment he walked in here, he’s been doing that,” said Redknapp. “The kid turned in a performance you would go a long way to see in the Premier League.”
James twice saved magnificently in the dying minutes and, Defoe might have banished fond memories of Mwaruwari with the winner. “I’m a little bit disappointed not to get a second,” said Defoe. “But I’ll take a goal any day.”
Star man: Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)
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Player ratings: Portsmouth: James 7, Johnson 7, Campbell 5, Hreidarsson 6, Pamarot 6, Hughes 6, Diarra 8, Davis 5 (Mvuemba 68min), Kranjcar 7, Baros 6, Defoe 7
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Alex 5, Ben Haim 5, A Cole 6, Makelele 6, Ballack 6, Wright-Phillips 7, Malouda 7 (Pizarro 74min), J Cole 6, Anelka 7
Scorers: Portsmouth: Defoe 64 Chelsea: Anelka 55
Yellow cards: Portsmouth: Davis, Pamarot
Referee: H Webb
Attendance: 20, 488