Chelsea missed the opportunity to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table as they were held 1-1 away at West Bromwich Albion - who moved out of the relegation zone.

Branislav Ivanovic opened the scoring at The Hawthorns, but the Blues were unable to build on that advantage and saw Victor Anichebe step off the bench to restore parity.

The Baggies, having slipped into the bottom three over the weekend, set out to contain and frustrate their high-flying opponents, and they executed their game plan perfectly until switching off seconds before the interval.

Willian swung over a corner from the right, David Luiz touched the ball on at the near post and Ivanovic was able to escape his marker and turn home from close range.

West Brom offered much more of an attacking threat after the restart and, having been knocking on the door for some time, saw Anichebe haul them level three minutes from time as he glanced a Saido Berahino cross in off the post.

Hype

After all the hype in the wake of their stunning win at Manchester City and Eden Hazard-inspired thumping of Newcastle on Saturday, Jose Mourinho's side were undoubtedly off the boil in midweek.

Perhaps Mourinho does have a point after all, that his side are the "little horses" in this year's championship race, as Arsenal and City will have the chance to take over at the summit on Wednesday.

Only Willian can claim to have had an impressive game as it was he who primarily pulled the strings, and who crucially set up the only goal of the first half just as Albion were on the brink of heading into the interval on the back of a creditable 0-0 scoreline.

From his corner into the near post, centre-back Luiz was left unmarked to flick the ball on with his right foot to the far post where Ivanovic slotted home from three yards.

After the break Willian enjoyed a further three driven efforts, all of which were superbly saved by home goalkeeper Ben Foster.

At least the home side showed greater attacking intent in the second period as James Morrison fired wide, Thievy Bifouma flashed a shot through the six-yard box, while skipper Chris Brunt hammered a half -volley beyond the left-hand post.

With Anichebe on for Bifouma in the 73rd minute, the Nigerian glanced home Saido Berahino's cross three minutes from time to lift Albion back out of the drop zone.

Teams

West Bromwich Albion Foster, Reid, Dawson, McAuley, Ridgewell, Morrison, Yacob (Mulumbu 63), Brunt, Amalfitano (Anichebe 73), Berahino, Thievy (Vydra 78)
Subs Not Used Myhill, Lugano, Dorrans, Gera
Booked Amalfitano, Yacob, Anichebe
Goals Anichebe 87

Chelsea Cech (c), Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta, Ramires (Salah 89), Matic, Willian, Oscar (Mikel 79), Hazard, Eto’o (Torres 69)
Subs Not Used Schwarzer, Cole, Lampard, Schurrle
Booked Willian, Ivanovic, Luiz, Matic
Goals Ivanovic 45+3

Attendance 24,327

Referee Anthony Taylor