Chelsea's artists denied by hard-working Saints

Chelsea 0 Southampton

There were new jumpers all around Stamford Bridge yesterday, but the present Chelsea most wanted must have been delayed in the post. A new pitch, favouring the hosts' passing game, is their manager Claudio Ranieri's dearest wish, but he will have to wait until next month for a fresh set of turf.

In the meantime, his ball-players must cope with a field of divots rather than dreams, especially when, as yesterday, it rains before and during the match. Against a team like Southampton, who were organised, hard-working and brimming with belief, Chelsea needed to be at their flowing best. Instead, they were stuck in the mire and so missed their chance to occupy the Premiership summit for the first time under Ranieri, albeit only for two hours.

"It was very difficult to play," he said. "The pitch was very bad. It was more a battle than a football match." Gordon Strachan, his Southampton counterpart, added: "We played sensible football to our strengths."

Not that the game was devoid of quality. Fabrice Fernandes skipped along the surface for Saints while Gianfranco Zola, as ever, was required viewing. It was ironic, then, that the Sardinian missed the best chance of the match, hitting the post from three yards after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's 11th-minute cross.

Had that gone in, the game might have opened up and a spectacle ensued. Instead, it became one for the purists, with Southampton's discipline and work ethic the dominant features. Not that Saints were negative. Rory Delap, running on to Jo Tessem's sublime pass, should have scored after 18 minutes. Ed de Goey, playing his first Premiership match since last year, also had to save carefully from Matt Oakley and Michael Svensson while James Beattie put a half-chance too high. Beattie, though, was largely contained by an on-song Marcel Desailly, who, in a rare lapse due to over-confidence, put Celestine Babayaro in trouble midway through the half. Jody Morris just managed to clear.

Zola, meanwhile, continued to orchestrate Chelsea's attack. After 34 minutes, he tricked his way through only to become stuck in the glue. Seven minutes later, the mud again foiled him as, having brought down De Goey's goal-kick, his pass to Enrique de Lucas slowed in the muck. By the time the Spaniard had set himself up, Chris Marsden had got back for a clearing tackle.

By the final 10 minutes, however, Chelsea had gained the pitch's measure. Zola's slide-rule ball to Hasselbaink should have resulted in a goal, but the Dutchman pulled his shot wide. Zola and Hasselbaink then set up William Gallas only for Antti Niemi to save. It was the start of a dramatic five minutes for Gallas, a late substitute. Deep into injury-time Chelsea won a corner. Boudewijn Zenden's kick fell first to Frank Lampard, then to John Terry. Each time, Gallas inadvertently blocked their goalbound shots, though a Southampton hand might also have intervened on the second occasion. Desailly then blasted the second rebound over and Stamford Bridge was condemned to its first scoreless match of the season.

Southampton deserved a draw – they are now unbeaten in six games. "We feel we can stand toe-to-toe with anybody," Strachan said. Chelsea are simply looking forward to 12 January, when the new pitch arrives and they can stand without slipping over.

Chelsea (4-4-2): De Goey 6; Melchiot 4 (Gallas, 85), Terry 6, Desailly 7, Babayaro 5; De Lucas 5 (Gudjohnsen, 80), Morris 5, Petit 4, Zenden 4 (Lampard, 84); Hasselbaink 4, Zola 6. Substitutes not used: Pidgeley (gk), Gronkjaer.

Southampton (4-4-2): Niemi 6; Telfer 5, Lundekvam 6, M Svensson 5, Bridge 5; Fernandes 6, Oakley 6 (A Svensson, 89), Delap 5, Marsden 6; Beattie 5, Tessem 6 (Davies, 85). Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Williams, Ormerod.

Referee: P Durkin (Portland) 6.