Fulham lead Chelsea at break

HT Fulham 1 Chelsea 0

Chelsea were in danger of falling off the title pace after Clint Dempsey’s strike gave Fulham the half-time lead at Craven Cottage.

Earlier in the day, Barclays Premier League leaders Liverpool had opened a four-point advantage over Chelsea with a 5-1 win at Newcastle

Demspey turned in Simon Davies’ free-kick before Fulham withstood a barrage of pressure from Chelsea.

Malouda was replaced by Anelka after half an hour and he immediately fired in stinging drive from 25-yards that Schwarzer could only parry clear off his thigh.

Chelsea’s reshuffle saw Joe Cole pushed into a more advanced role on the right and it took a well-timed tackle from Etuhu on the edge of his own box to block a typical jinking run from the England international.

Chelsea were dominating posession but Fulham were bright on the ball and Zamora sliced into the box but Cech intercepted his low cross before Dempsey could pounce again.

Chelsea then made their second change with Alex replaced after 36 minutes by Ricardo Carvalho, who returned to action after two months out with a knee injury.

Bosingwa teed up Lampard for another strike from outside the box and Schwarazer did well to scramble across and push it behind for a corner.