Blues injury crisis brings back unhappy memories

CHELSEA have been struck with an uncomfortable dose of deja-vu.

Not only do they have to contemplate two points dropped against Everton this morning, but more importantly, the return of an injury crisis is threatening to wreck their season for the second year in-a-row.

Tim Cahill’s 89th minute overhead-kick that cancelled out Didier Drogba’s opener in a 1-1 draw was the major talking point as Chelsea fans, further disillusioned by news that Manchester United had beaten Blackburn, trudged out of Stamford Bridge.

But in truth a scan on key defender Ricardo Carvalho’s injured back could have a greater effect on their team’s championship challenge.

Carvalho lasted only 29 minutes before tripping over Everton striker Yakubu and pulling up in agony and his departure was almost as painful for manager Avram Grant as the sight of Cahill’s late acrobatics.

Chelsea are already without their influential captain John Terry, who is recovering from a knee operation, right-back Paulo Ferreira, out for three more weeks with an ankle injury, and goalkeeper Petr Cech, who will be missing for a similar period with a calf problem.

It brings back chilling memories of last year when, in the absence of Terry and Cech, Chelsea effectively threw away their chances in mid-season and allowed Manchester United to take away their title.

Jose Mourinho famously claimed his team would have won the Double had it not been for those injuries and promised it was impossible for them to be so unlucky again. Unfortunately for Chelsea, the Portuguese is being proved wrong.

“We have too many injuries and it’s not easy to play,” admitted Grant. “I don’t know what’s happened to other teams but for our team to play without the back four and the goalkeeper is not easy. It’s the reason we have a big squad but I agree it’s unusual what is happening.

“Ricardo will have a scan tomorrow on a back injury and then we will know how bad it is.”

Should Carvalho be ruled out for any significant length of time it would be a massive blow and there was a further sense of deja-vu for Chelsea when Michael Essien, who has calmed down so much in recent times, lost his head with a studs-up tackle on Leon Osman that Cahill later claimed deserves an apology.

Even so, Chelsea dominated the first-half. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard produced a remarkable save from Frank Lampard after he met a Belletti cut-back perfectly in the 29th minute and Drogba somehow kicked thin air when Wright-Phillips found him unmarked eight yards out.

Chelsea continued to control possession after the break as Howard produced another fine save from a Lampard chip and Tony Hibbert cleared an Alex effort off the line. And they thought they had clinched all three points when Drogba met a Kalou corner with a superb near-post header to put his side ahead.

But Everton grabbed an equaliser when McFadden’s shot looped up into the air off Belletti and Cahill’s overhead kick flew into the net.

“It was a fantastic finish,” said a delighted Moyes “It’s one of the toughest places to come because of their home record and we showed a lot of determination.’’

As for Grant, he is hoping his Groundhog Day won’t be repeated.

“We lost two points today and it’s disappointing,” he admitted. “But it doesn’t have an effect on the title race.” Funnily enough, that’s just what Jose said last year.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cudicini 6, Belletti 6, Alex 6, Carvalho 6 (Ben Haim 28, 5), Bridge 7, Mikel 7, Lampard 7, Essien 7, Wright-Phillips 5 (Kalou 64), Drogba 8, J Cole 6.

Subs Not Used: Hilario, Shevchenko, Pizarro.

EVERTON: (4-4-1-1) Howard 8, Hibbert 7, Yobo 8, Lescott 6, Valente 7, Osman 6, Carsley 6 (Gravesen 75, 5), Neville 5 (McFadden 45, 5), Pienaar 6,Cahill 7 Yakubu 5 (Anchibe 45, 7).

Subs Not Used: Wessels, Jagielka.

REFEREE: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire) 8: When you don’t notice a referee for most of the 90 minutes it’s fair to assume he had a pretty decent game. Wiley got the big decisions right and kept the game flowing.

MATCH RATING: ** The free-flowing football promised by Avram Grant and seen briefly against Manchester City went missing again and they were punished by a dogged Everton. Not one for Roman Abramovich to enjoy.