Chelsea denied victory by late Stoke goal

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 1

Mame Diouf’s late equaliser denied Chelsea a fourth consecutive Premier League victory.

A breathtaking first-half strike by Bertrand Traore seemed set to give the Blues the win, but Stoke levelled when the outstanding Xherdan Shaqiri crossed from the right and Thibaut Courtois could only push the ball out to Diouf, who headed home.

Chelsea had started slowly, but the excellent Eden Hazard – on his 200th Blues appearance – and Willian began to dominate.

Willian blasted an effort narrowly wide and also saw a shot blocked after a fine run by Hazard.

Traore, playing up front because of a tendon injury to Diego Costa, then made it 1-0 when he turned sharply 25 yards from goal following a Nemanja Matic pass and crashed the ball in to the far corner from the edge of the box.

Stoke, who had twice gone close through Diouf before the break, came close to levelling soon after the restart when Marco Arnautovic tested Courtois with a fierce shot from distance, while the Belgian keeper also saved well from Shaqiri’s low strike

At the other end Hazard fired an attempt across goal following a swift break by Willian and Oscar had a strong claim for a penalty waved away by referee Mark Clattenburg after a push by Marc Muniesa.

But the Potters equalised after Willian surrendered possession and Chelsea were unable to find a winner late on, with a Baba Rahman shot as close as they came.