Late goal condemns Chelsea to defeat

Stoke City 3 Chelsea 2

Oussama Assaidi’s superb late goal condemned Chelsea to another away defeat.

Andre Schurrle scored twice and almost completed a hat-trick before Mark Hughes’ side hit back to secure a dramatic victory.

Having lost at Everton and then at Newcastle – a display which angered boss Jose Mourinho – this was another setback for the Blues, who dropped a place to third in the table.

Mourinho has previously their away form is a concern, and their shortcomings were evident once again despite them being on top for much of the game.

Schurrle put them ahead in the ninth minute when he fired into the far corner after being found by the recalled John Mikel Obi.

But Chelsea were punished for missing a number of chances – Ramires was the worst culprit.

Peter Crouch levelled for Stoke three minutes before the break when he poked home from a corner.

And Steven Ireland put the hosts in front early in the second half, curling a shot beyond the reach of keeper Petr Cech after collecting Jon Walters’ pass.

Schurrle levelled two minutes later by volleying through a crowd of players and into the net after City could only half-clear Juan Mata’s free-kick.

Galvanised, Chelsea pushed for a winner and were unlucky not to regain the lead when Schurrle’s fine strike hit the bar.

Assaidi, on the other hand, found the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area, giving Stoke only their fourth league win since Hughes’ arrival.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel (Lampard 70); Hazard, Mata, Schurrle (Eto’o 70); Torres (Ba 59).
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Cole, Essien, De Bruyne.

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