Hull City produced a manful performance to hold Chelsea to a surprise draw as the title hopefuls missed the chance to take their league lead to four points.
Steven Mouyokolo had threatened to pile further misery on the under-fire Chelsea and England captain John Terry with a headed goal in the 30th minute.
Didier Drogba marked his return from Africa Cup of Nations duty with the equaliser from a free-kick, but Hull comfortably held on to a precious draw.
It was no less than the hosts deserved from an all-action display and even though the result was not enough to move them out of the bottom three, it could provide a welcome fillip as they enter the crucial stages of their battle against relegation.
The draw allowed Chelsea to extend their lead over second-placed Manchester United but only to two points which was far from the advantage boss Carlo Ancelotti would have wanted.
Boss Carlo Ancelotti will surely consider this a missed opportunity, though, especially with a home match against the Gunners to come on Sunday.
Gunners comprehensive defeat to United at the weekend looked to have turned the race for the Premier League title into a two-horse race, especially with Chelsea widely expected to move on to 57 points from 24 games with victory at the KC Stadium.
On paper, it looked a straightforward task. Six straight wins in which they have scored 21 goals and conceded only four marked Chelsea out as clear favourites against a Hull side without a win in nine.
But the hosts disciplined and forceful approach, typified - as so often - by Stephen Hunt, stultified a Chelsea side far from their best.
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