Sheffield Wednesday 0 Chelsea 0

By Ian Parkes, PA Sport

Chelsea's Premiership title hopes suffered a third successive setback as Sheffield Wednesday edged a step closer towards safety today.

Gianluca Vialli's side have now drawn their last three matches and find themselves four points adrift of current leaders Arsenal and three behind second-placed Manchester United.

It's hard to see them going any higher, while they still face a challenge from Leeds for that third place which guarantees a Champions' League action next season.

The reason being is that the skilful, fast-flowing football which had carried Chelsea to their long, unbeaten run and to the top of the Premier League for a brief spell, has simply evaporated.

There were too many mis-placed passes, too much hit-and-hope to suggest the Blues can seriously overhaul either Manchester United or Arsenal down the closing stretch.

But despite that, they are still not out of the title frame as their run-in is the easier of the three, with matches against Everton, Spurs and Derby potential three-point bankers.

But then Vialli's side were also expected to beat Middlesbrough, Leicester and Wednesday as well, but have ended up with a total of just three points.

The six dropped would have seen them climb the summit again, but it's clearly become advantage Arsenal and United.

Vialli's body language was also a clear pointer of his growing frustration, the Italian becomingly increasingly animated during the second-half.

The dismissive gesticulations of referee Steve Dunn's decisions which went against him and his side became more and more flamboyant as the game wore on.

But this was a match for the purist as both sides, in particular Wednesday, defended solidly as Chelsea's attacks floundered on the rocks which were Emerson and Des Walker.

Although having taken just five points from the last 27, their future in the Premiership for next season looks almost guaranteed.

The Owls are now eight points clear of Southampton and Charlton, with both the Saints and the Addicks having just three games left with which to save themselves.

This was certainly a deserved point and in young winger Mark McKeever they appear to have a player for the future, having been earmarked as such when bought by David Pleat three seasons ago from Peterborough.

Despite a third minute error in his own area which gifted Chelsea their best chance of the game, the Republic of Ireland international looked sharp and positive on his debut.

Bjarne Goldbaek should have done better with McKeever's mistake, but his left-foot shot from just inside the area was curled wide of Pavel Srnicek's right-hand post.

There were several half-chances as Mikael Forssell fired in a shot which bounced off Des Walker, Marcel Desailly sidefooted wide and Vialli flicked a near-post downward header into the sidenetting - but those were all in the first-half.

There was barely an opportunity worthy of the name during the second 45 minutes from the visitors, despite the half-time introduction of the normally livewire Gianfranco Zola.

But even he looked subdued during an off-day for Chelsea, who could easily have ended up with nothing as the more inspired moments, especially towards the end, came from Wednesday.

McKeever, who has enjoyed loan spells at Bristol Rovers and more recently Reading this season, drilled a left-foot drive wide in the 22nd minute and volleyed narrowly over 10 minutes after the break.

Carbone came closest, though, in a game in which even he also lacked the ingenuity to break open a match which was crying out for someone to take hold of it by the scruff of the neck.

The Italian, following a through ball free-kick from Wim Jonk, only just grazed Kevin Hitchcock's crossbar with a dipping shot from just outside the area.

And that was as good as it got as Wednesday, despite a late charge, left the field by far the happier, while there were few smiles to be seen on the faces of the Chelsea players.

Teams

Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Atherton, Walker, Thome, Stefanovic, Alexandersson, Jonk, Sonner, McKeever, Booth (Cresswell 80),Carbone.

Subs Not Used: Pressman, Newsome, Cobian, Haslam.

Booked: Booth.

Chelsea: Hitchcock, Ferrer, Leboeuf, Desailly, Babayaro, Lambourde, Poyet (Newton 59), Wise, Goldbaek, Vialli, Forssell (Zola 46).

Subs Not Used: Duberry, Nicholls, Kharine.

Booked: Babayaro, Ferrer.

Att: 21,652

Ref: S Dunn (Bristol).