MX23RW : Sunday, November 10 07:42:00| >> :120:32011:32011:

Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham City

Chelsea 1-1 Birmingham
© PA Photos
Championship side Birmingham City heap more pressure on Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas by recording a 1-1 draw at Chelsea this afternoon.

Chelsea failed to ease some of the pressure on their manager Andre Villas-Boas by being held to a 1-1 draw by Championship side Birmingham City in round five of the FA Cup this afternoon.

Following a tentative start at Stamford Bridge, Chris Hughton's visitors broke the deadlock in the 20th minute. Nathan Redmond's free kick flashed across the Chelsea goal and full-back David Murphy was on hand to turn the ball in from close range for Birmingham.

However, Chelsea had a chance to level up proceedings just one minute later when Wade Elliott was adjudged to have brought down Ramires inside the area. Juan Mata took the resultant spot kick but Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle guessed correctly to turn the Spaniard's effort wide of goal.

Daniel Sturridge went closest for Chelsea before the break, but his long-range effort grazed the crossbar.

The half-time introduction of Didier Drogba in place of Fernando Torres gave Chelsea more of an attacking threat after the break as the home side began to dominate.

That pressure told just after the hour mark, when Sturridge headed a cross from Branislav Ivanovic beyond the reach of Doyle.

Both teams had chances to advance to the quarter-finals in the remaining minutes, as Birmingham midfielder Jordan Mutch saw his driven free kick held by Petr Cech, while Ivanovic lifted his effort over for Chelsea from close range.

The two teams will meet again at St Andrews in around ten days' time to determine who will progress through to the last eight.

ID:16926: cacheID:16926:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3256:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Frank Lampard
Read Next:
Team News: Lampard, Drogba start on bench for Chelsea
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
2.30pm
Giants
@
Panthers
6pm
Patriots
@
Bears
6pm
49ers
@
Buccaneers
6pm
Broncos
@
Chiefs
6pm
Bills
@
Colts
6pm
Vikings
@
Jags
6pm
Falcons
@
Saints
6pm
Steelers
@
Washington
9.05pm
Titans
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Jets
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Eagles
@
Cowboys
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
5Chelsea105322012818
6Arsenal105321711618
7Fulham115331613318
8Aston Villa115331717018
9Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
10Brentford115152222016
11Bournemouth114341515015
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton112451017-710
17Crystal Palace11146815-77
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
19Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!