Chelsea 1-1 Stoke City
- Published
Mame Biram Diouf was replaced by Joselu immediately after scoring
Mame Biram Diouf scored a late equaliser as Stoke prevented Chelsea from overtaking them in the league.
Bertrand Traore, playing as a central striker, gave the Blues the lead when he took Nemanja Matic's pass, turned and fired home from 20 yards out.
The Potters deservedly levelled when Xherdan Shaqiri's cross was punched by Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois to Diouf, who headed into an empty net.
Bojan almost won it for the Potters in injury time but Courtois denied him.
Stoke remain seventh in the table, with Chelsea 10th - three points behind them.
Chelsea miss injured Costa
Bertrand Traore only had two touches in the Stoke box despite being a striker, with his goal coming from outside the area
The Blues named a team with Wednesday's Champions League game against Paris St-Germain in mind. Striker Diego Costa, who had a minor tendon injury, was not risked, while midfielder Cesc Fabregas was left on the bench.
Burkina Faso forward Traore started centrally, with recognised strikers Loic Remy and Alexandre Pato on the bench, and his goal was the one real moment of quality in the game.
He found space outside the box before firing a great shot past Jack Butland - his fourth goal in five games.
However, he had a mixed game, failing to control the ball in the box on a couple of occasions and being caught offside needlessly.
He was replaced after 68 minutes by Remy, who made little impact.
Chelsea could have had a penalty when Marc Muniesa leaned on Oscar in the box but there were only muted appeals for a spot-kick.
Stoke show their form is no fluke
The Potters had won their previous three Premier League games and started the day five points off the Champions League places.
Mark Hughes named an attacking line-up at the home of the soon-to-be dethroned champions, with Ibrahim Afellay, Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic starting behind Diouf. When Bojan replaced Glenn Whelan, they had five forwards on the pitch.
And just when it looked like their luck might be out - Courtois had done well to deny Shaqiri and Arnautovic - they got their reward.
With Joselu waiting on the touchline to replace Diouf, the Senegal striker headed home after Courtois failed to adequately deal with Shaqiri's cross. That was his last touch.
Hughes told BBC Sport: "That's the bit of luck you need. He put a great shift in. He was looking a bit tired so I thought I'd freshen it up. Luckily he scored just before I brought him off."
Manager reaction: 'Stoke deserved to win'
Stoke boss Mark Hughes told BBC Sport: "We're grateful to equalise but we deserved more from the game. It was an excellent away performance - we took the game to Chelsea. We were encouraged by the team they picked.
Stoke deserved to beat Chelsea - Hughes
"I was a bit surprised with their team. I thought they had a chance to get in the Champions League.
"We're really pleased with the performance. Their goal came out of the blue, it was a great bit of individual skill. I felt we were a strong team and made things happen."
Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink told BBC Sport: "Stoke play well and creatively and they pushed us back. The first goal we got after a sloppy start, it was a beautiful goal.
"We should have got a penalty for a foul on Oscar. Any referee would have given a free-kick if it was outside the box. That was a key point. Stoke got some encouragement after that.
Chelsea needed second goal - Hiddink
"We have rested one or two players but it's good to see the players who came in, especially the young ones, like Traore and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, do well.
"Everyone knows in December we were one point off the relegation zone. There was a little bit of panic. Through a lot of draws at the beginning, we moved away and then we had to make the next step with victories, which we did."
Man of the match: Giannelli Imbula
Giannelli Imbula tried more passes (61) than anyone else on the pitch, including the most in the opposite half (46)
Match stats: Hiddink makes history
Hiddink is the first manager to go 12 Premier League games unbeaten from the beginning of a single managerial spell at a club, overtaking Frank Clark's record of 11 games set back in 1994 at Nottingham Forest.
Traore has scored in each of his past three appearances at Stamford Bridge.
Matic assisted his first goal since the final day of the 2014-15 season.
Diouf scored his first goal since September and ended a run of 12 league games without a goal.
It was Stoke's first time avoiding defeat at Stamford Bridge in the league since December 1984 - ending a run of eight consecutive defeats.
Hughes has failed to win any of his past 35 Premier League visits to Anfield, Emirates/Highbury, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, losing 30 and drawing five.
What's up next? Chelsea's attentions turn elsewhere
Chelsea's next two games will have more of an impact on their chances of winning a trophy than the Stoke fixture.
On Wednesday, they try to overhaul a 2-1 first-leg deficit against PSG in the Champions League last 16, while next Saturday they go to Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Stoke's next game is at home to Southampton next Saturday.