Chelsea’s hopes of UEFA Champions League football were dented on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge by relegation-threatened Ipswich Town, a result that also ended their five-match home win streak.
The Blues certainly had their moments early on, with Nicolas Jackson striking the post and Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah forcing Alex Palmer into makeshift saves. But in a game where they had little to show going forward, Ipswich stunned the home crowd when Ben Johnson teed up Julio Enciso to slide in the opener. The pair combined again before the interval, with Enciso turning provider to Johnson, heading in a second to hand the visitors a surprise 2-0 lead at the break.
Chelsea were rampant at the start of the second half, as they got one back in the opening moments through an Axel Tuanzebe own goal, after a ball across by Noni Madueke. Ipswich remained dangerous, despite more pressure and a superb save by Alex Palmer from Pedro Neto, Enciso then forcing Robert Sánchez into a save.
But Cole Palmer took a quick corner and Jadon Sancho drilled a brilliant long-range effort to salvage a point. Chelsea leap to fifth but will regret having dropped points against the division’s bottom club. Ipswich, while 14 points adrift of safety, fought hard in an entertaining contest.
