Blues regroup as title bid falters at Fulham

Chelsea, who are in danger of fragmenting
as the pressure of a faltering championship
challenge begins to build, had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage after Clint Dempsey headed a late equaliser.

That result sends the Blues into the New Year lying second in the table three points behind Liverpool. United are seven points in arrears of Chelsea in third place but they have three games in hand plus home advantage when they face Luiz Felipe Scolari's men on Sunday week.

Just six days after captain John Terry was sent off in a stalemate at Everton, another Chelsea draw, against feisty Fulham, was marred by a touchline argument between Scolari and Jose Bosingwa and a post-match confrontation between the boss and goalkeeper Petr Cech over who was responsible for marking Dempsey.

It was left to stand-in skipper Lampard to paper over the cracks by insisting the title is still up for grabs. The England midfielder, who scored both Chelsea goals yesterday, claimed confidence within the dressing room remained intact.

He said: "There's three points in it and we've got a very good squad of players. Against Fulham it was frustrating because of the manner of
losing all three points with that last-minute header. But we will go to United wanting to win that game. If we can get real consistency going, we can win the League."

Chelsea have won just twice in seven League games — hardly form to keep Rafa Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson awake at night. But what might help their cause is the adoption of Lampard's never-say-die attitude that was spotlighted by Scolari as one of the positives yesterday. He said: "Frank is a man who never accepts defeat. He tries again and again many times."

Lampard replied: "You can only win titles with never-say-die in your team. That is what Chelsea are all about. We've had it for the last few years and we've still got it."