Salomon Kalou's second-half strike earned Chelsea a home replay against Everton in the FA Cup fourth round.
Louis Saha gave the Toffees the lead when he headed past Petr Cech from Leighton Baines' right-wing corner.
But substitute Kalou equalised for the visitors within five minutes of coming on when he slotted in from 12 yards.
Ramires hit the home side's post with a shot late on, while Nicolas Anelka was denied by Tim Howard and Jack Rodwell had an effort saved by Cech.
Chelsea, looking to become the first team to win three successive FA Cup titles since Blackburn in the 1880s, and Everton, without a trophy since their triumph in the competition in 1995, both fielded strong sides.
Ironically, the west Londoners' record run began against the Merseysiders in 2009 and nine of the XI that started at Wembley were back on duty almost 20 months on from that showpiece occasion.
Although a little older and perhaps a yard slower, Chelsea's class of 2011 are still a potent outfit and caused Everton problems on the break, as highlighted by the equaliser, even though manager David Moyes' side had the majority of the possession in midfield.
Anelka, not as sharp as he has been in previous seasons, should have scored late in the first half when he was played in by Ramires, but fired his low shot at American keeper Howard, who anticipated well.
Moments later, Anelka's fellow Frenchman Florent Malouda broke on the right before adding a touch of swerve on his 20-yard shot which Howard did well to push away for a corner.
The Toffees, without their top scorer Tim Cahill, relied on Saha, Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to provide the bullets.
Rodwell, 19, was arguably the man of the match. The teenager's sureness of touch was a delight to witness although he would have been left screaming at himself for failing to beat visiting keeper Cech from 15 yards midway in the first half after Fellaini had done well to win possession from Michael Essien.
Having watched Frank Lampard and Essien dictate matches, it was unusual to see the pair ball-watching for much of the 90 minutes while Everton's midfield grew in confidence.
That dominance was rewarded after the break, when Saha, who scored in the 2009 cup final, lost his marker John Terry in the area to head in Baines' corner from the right.
However, 13 minutes later they found themselves undeservedly back on level terms. Chelsea broke from an Everton corner, Anelka found Kalou, who drifted in from the right and stroked a shot past Howard, low into bottom right.
Chelsea could have stolen it in the last five minutes when Ramires' fierce low strike from 20 yards hit the foot of the Everton upright, but even the visitors and their manager Carlo Ancelotti would have thought that would have been unjust on their hosts.
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
Latest Stories
-
Armah-Kofi Buah is the light of Western Region – NDC Regional Secretary praises Ellembelle lawmaker
36 mins -
‘Go back to Supreme Court’ – Dafeamekpor tells Afenyo-Markin over Speaker’s refusal to recall Parliament
55 mins -
EC’s Restriction on Media Accreditation: A threat to Ghana’s democracy and press freedom
1 hour -
Bawumia will sign peace pact on Thursday – Campaign
1 hour -
Ghanaian dancehall sensation CantCool makes waves in OKC
1 hour -
Ghanaians must learn to embrace new characters – Safo Newman
1 hour -
AGA MD crowned Mining Personality of the Year at 10th Mining Industry Awards
2 hours -
Increase in cocoa price has reduced cocoa smuggling – Kuapa Kokoo MD
2 hours -
Rev. Mary Ghansah’s ‘More Than A Song’ event slated for December 1
2 hours -
EC’s collation centre media limit could undermine transparency – Dr Kojo Asante
2 hours -
COP29: Young people prevail on G20 countries to deliver climate finance
2 hours -
EC urges political parties to avoid wasting resources on monitoring electoral material transport
2 hours -
Unlock Tomorrow’s Innovations, Utilise Technology: Our chance at progress: Join us at the IN’TECH Forum!
2 hours -
New era in public transport sector as Bawumia launches affordable electric buses
2 hours -
WHO Africa incoming director dies aged 55
2 hours