In the end, it was a disappointing result given the fact we were in front with only 10 minutes remaining, particularly considering results from elsewhere earlier in the day.

Frank Lampard had given us the lead a minute before the break from the penalty spot after Salomon Kalou had been fouled by Stephen Kelly, but after failing to double our advantage early in the second half when we missed good chances, the home side began to exert the pressure.

Petr Cech made a stunning save from an Aaron Hughes header as the clock ticked down, but a minute later Fulham were level when Clint Dempsey headed home his third goal in two matches.

It's undoubtedly a result that leaves us with a mountain to climb in our quest for a top-four finish, but attention now turns towards a massive FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, a game which Roberto Di Matteo should have no problems in getting his team fired up for.


- First half

With the Blues in the middle of a gruelling run of fixtures, Di Matteo made six changes to the side which beat Wigan on Saturday. Captain John Terry and Lampard returned from injury, while Ramires also came back into the side after recovering from illness. John Mikel Obi and Salomon Kalou, who both came on during the second half at the weekend, also started, while Fernando Torres was preferred to Didier Drogba in attack. Meanwhile, with Ashley Cole still missing, Ryan Bertrand retained his place in the side at left-back.

Fulham made two changes to the side which won 3-0 at Bolton on Saturday, with Danny Murphy and Kerim Frei coming in at the expense of injured Bryan Ruiz and Alex Kacaniklic.

Both sides came into the west London derby in decent form, but it was Fulham who came out of the blocks quickest, attempting to utilise the threat of John Arne Riise and Frei down the left-hand side.

Torres spurned our first opportunity of the game after 10 minutes when his shot from just inside the penalty area was deflected over the bar after some good build-up play between Kalou and Raul Meireles, while a succession of Lampard corners which followed shortly after failed to exert any test Mark Schwarzer.

Martin Jol's side were looking to expose Branislav Ivanovic at every opportunity during the opening exchanges, but the Serbian defender, so impressive of late, was equal to everything being thrown at him.

It was end-to-end stuff as both teams looked to gain an early advantage under dreadful conditions, and the in-form Clint Dempsey, who scored twice at the weekend, wasted the best chance of the game when he shot tamely at Petr Cech from Mousa Dembele's pass.

Frei had been a constant threat early on and he went close a minute later after a clever run, but Cech saved well low down to his right.

We were enjoying plenty of possession, but while we patiently retained the ball looking for an opening, the home side were finding it increasingly easy to defend against, while at the other end, Fulham's urgency in the final third was causing us problems.

The Blues then had what looked like a legitimate penalty claim waved away just after the half-hour mark when a fierce drive by Bertrand cannoned off the right hand of Kelly, only for our appeals to fall on deaf ears, much to the delight of the home supporters situated behind the goal.

As the half wore on, there was a lack of goalmouth action at both ends, and with the conditions worsening, both Meireles and Gary Cahill found themselves cautioned for late, albeit relatively harmless tackles.

In the final minute of the half, however, we were awarded a penalty when Kalou went down inside the box as he was tripped by Kelly, just before Murphy made a two-footed challenge on him. It came after Bertrand had won the ball back. Mark Clattenburg had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Lampard stepped up to rifle his strike into the bottom corner.

It proved to be the last action of any note in what had been a fairly entertaining game considering the lack of clear-cut chances, but the referee left the field of play to a crescendo of jeers from the home fans who disagreed with the penalty decision.

- Second half

Both teams came out for the second half unchanged, and Lampard almost doubled his tally for the evening with a dipping effort that flew inches wide inside the opening few minutes, while soon after he narrowly failed to connect with a teasing Bertrand cross from the left.

It was a positive start to the half as we looked to put the game out of reach, and Meireles should really have done better when he fired over from a clever Torres lay-off.

Passes from both sides somewhat inevitably began to go astray on an incredibly slippery surface, as both Mikel and Murphy entered the referee's book. Kalou almost doubled our advantage from a wonderful Lampard cross but, under pressure, his header was forced behind for a corner.

Di Matteo made our first change of the night with 20 minutes remaining when he introduced Juan Mata at the expense of the largely ineffective Meireles as Fulham began to press for an equaliser, while Jol soon followed suit, replacing Murphy with the fresh legs of Dickson Etuhu.

It was the home side dominating possession in the last 15 minutes, and it required a last-ditch Bertrand tackle to prevent Dempsey from racing through on goal, while the American then tested Cech from distance with a curling strike.

Fulham were almost level when Aaron Hughes's point-blank header was expertly beaten away by Cech, but they weren't to be denied in a minute later when Dempsey rose highest to head home a corner in a crowded penalty area.
The Blues were on the ropes, and while Didier Drogba was brought on to replace Ramires, Cech was called upon again to save another header from Hughes.

The Blues poured forward in the closing minutes as we looked for another late winner, but there was to be no repeat of Saturday's late drama and, ultimately, Di Matteo will see it as two points dropped.


- Match stats:

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Schwarzer; Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise; Diarra (Sa 80), Dembele; Duff, Murphy (c) (Etuhu 73), Frei (Kacaniklic 87); Dempsey.
Unused substitutes Stockdale, Kasami, Senderos, Briggs.
Scorer: Dempsey 82
Booked: Murphy

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Bertrand; Mikel, Lampard; Ramires (Drogba 83), Meireles (Mata 69), Kalou; Torres.
Unused substitutes Turnbull, Bosingwa, Romeu, Malouda, Sturridge.
Scorer: Lampard 44
Booked: Meireles, Cahill, Mikel, Lampard
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Crowd: 25,697

- Match report by chelseafc.com