Bent puts a dent in Chelsea's great run
The match saw them drop home points in the league for the first time this season.
Charlton's Marcus Bent, a £2.5m (€3.65m) signing from Everton in midweek, stunned the champions-elect with an equaliser as they had Ricardo Carvalho sent off on an eventful afternoon in west London.
Eriksson's comments about bungs and transfer irregularities, recorded by a tabloid newspaper in an elaborate sting, were the talk of the town before the game. But afterwards it was more about Chelsea's temporary blip in a match they were lucky not to lose.
It ended a run of 11 straight home wins in the Premiership for Chelsea and prevented them completing what would have been a record run of 11 league victories in a row since they were beaten by Manchester United in November. Mourinho, however, took it in his stride, saying: "The draw doesn't make you happy but in the context of the Premiership you have to accept it. When you lose your first two points at home in January, that's still an achievement. We have one more point and one less game to play. And we are nearer the title."
Mourinho's only real gripe was the sending-off of Carvalho for two bookable offences just a week after Arjen Robben was also shown a red card at Sunderland, meaning he missed this afternoon of frustration.
They were Chelsea's first red cards of the Mourinho era.
What Mourinho didn't mention was that his team really weren't at their best in a match they didn't deserve to win. Chelsea dominated the first-half but dozed off in the second.
Early on, it was almost like a training ground session in midfield where Joe Cole produced his full array of flicks and Chelsea kept the ball with ease. They were unfortunate not to go ahead after seven minutes when Cole's wonderful run and through ball sent Lampard away and his shot was parried by goalkeeper Thomas Myhre.
The goal came in the 19th minute when Damien Duff's corner was met by Hernan Crespo's head and Myhre's reflex save fell for Gudjohnsen to stab the ball over the line. It should have been the springboard for a comfortable win for Mourinho's side but complacency ensured they failed to take advantage of their superiority.
Del Horno had a header cleared off the line and Gudjohnsen a similar effort tipped over the bar but Charlton, who produced a greater workrate in the second half, began to sense the Premiership's runaway leaders were not at their best.
Bryan Hughes had a 20-yard effort smartly saved by Petr Cech and then substitute Bent stunned the home crowd with an unexpected equaliser.
Carvalho gave the ball away and Matt Holland's straight-line ball over the top of the Chelsea defence was met by Bent, who looped a header over Cech in the 59th minute.
Mourinho took off Makelele and Duff and brought on debutant Maniche and Shaun Wright-Philips in a bid to revitalise his side.
To make matters worse for Chelsea, defender Carvalho was sent off after 81 minutes following a challenge from behind on Darren Bent that earned him his second yellow card.
Chelsea almost snatched a winner when Crespo was put through on goal but halted by an incorrect offside flag.
Charlton boss Alan Curbishley praised Bent's contribution and, having also won here in the Carling Cup, laid the blame for Chelsea's league lead at the door of bigger clubs.
"Chelsea are massively in front and it's up to the Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Uniteds get to get their acts together," he said.
"At the moment they are not and they haven't done enough. It's their own fault they are so far behind."
: Cech, Gallas, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Del Horno (Carlton Cole 79), Makelele (Wright-Phillips 63), Joe Cole, Lampard, Gudjohnsen, Duff (Maniche 63), Crespo.
: Myhre, Young, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Powell, Rommedahl (Marcus Bent 40), Holland, Kishishev, Hughes, Ambrose (Bartlett 90), Darren Bent.
: S Bennett (Kent).
