Chelsea missed the chance to move 10 points clear of second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League title race after being held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley.
Branislav Ivanovic fired the Blues into a 1-0 half-time lead at Stamford Bridge, but a red card for Nemanja Matic on 70 minutes aided the Clarets on the comeback trail.
Sean Dyche's side then grabbed a timely equaliser on 81 minutes to earn a hard-fought point in their battle against relegation.
Here, Sports Mole analyses what happened in West London.
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Match statistics
CHELSEA
Shots: 11
On target: 5
Possession: 61%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 9
BURNLEY
Shots: 9
On target: 5
Possession: 39%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Based on the above statistics, it is very difficult to begrudge Burnley a hard-fought point. While it is true that Matic's red card aided the Clarets on the comeback trail, they did more than enough defensively to warrant a draw away to the league leaders this afternoon.
Chelsea's performance
Despite boasting a 1-0 lead at the break, Jose Mourinho will not have entered half time overly enthused by what he saw from his side in the opening 45 minutes. They were comfortably the better team, and had an abundance of possession to prove it, but the Blues were afforded little to no goalscoring opportunities after Ivanovic's opener by virtue of Burnley's resolute defensive performance. Mourinho will also have been furious over seeing his side denied what looked like two stonewall penalties by referee Martin Atkinson.
Did things improve after the break? Minimally. Diego Costa briefly came to life and forced Tom Heaton into a decent save, but, other than that, the hosts encountered the same creativity issues that plagued them in the first half. The turning point undoubtedly came when Matic was sent off as Burnley then grew more dangerous and more adventurous in attack, before equalising with nine minutes remaining.
Manchester City can now move within five points of Mourinho's side with victory over Newcastle United, and, if the Blues fail to win the title, then this result may be considered the turning point in the season.
Burnley's performance
There was a sense that Burnley had been a little shortchanged from their meetings with the big boys recently, having lost 3-1 to Manchester United despite dominating the encounter 10 days ago. However, they put things right here with an excellent defensive performance and thoroughly deserved to take a point back to Lancashire.
Boasting the likes of Costa, Eden Hazard, Juan Cuadrado and Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea, the division's highest scorers, regularly ran out of ideas in their efforts to unlock the Clarets' stubborn back four. Hazard, in particular, saw his influence wane as the minutes ticked on. And Burnley occasionally looked threatening at the other end, too, with Thibaut Courtois forced into a couple of impressive saves.
They remain in the danger zone, but only on goal difference behind 17th-placed QPR, and it is hard to argue that Burnley cannot win their relegation battle if they reproduce performances like this until May.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Thibaut Courtois: It is perhaps indicative of Burnley's performance that Chelsea's goalkeeper deserves the man of the match award, but that was the reality.
Courtois was given little to do in the first half, but he was regularly called into action after the break and, in particular, denied Ashley Barnes with a couple of fine saves - the latter of which came just before the goal.
Biggest gaffe
It has to be Matic, whose moment of madness undoubtedly contributed to this result. Despite leading by just one goal, Chelsea were well in control of the contest when Matic, furious at being the recipient of a high challenge from Barnes, violently threw the Burnley striker to the ground.
To make matters worse, Ramires, who was brought on to fill that void in central midfield, was the player who Mee out-climbed to nod home the equaliser on 81 minutes. Mourinho's men would be 10 points clear at the summit if not for Matic's ill-discipline.
Referee performance
Atkinson did not cover himself in glory throughout a first half that saw Chelsea denied two clear-cut penalties. He might also find himself the subject of criticism from Mourinho for failing to penalise Barnes for the challenge that sent Matic into a fit of rage, resulting in his red card. It was not a good day at the office overall for Atkinson unfortunately.
What next?
Chelsea: Next up for the Blues is the Capital One Cup final with Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley next Sunday.
Burnley: Dyche and his team, meanwhile, host Swansea City at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
Shane Callaghan
