Chelsea’s hopes of retaining their Premier League title effectively came to an end on Monday night when the Blues failed to break down a spirited Fulham team as the game ended goalless.

Carlo Ancelotti decided to dispense with the diamond formation that has been ineffective against Liverpool eight days earlier and made the surprising decision to leave Didier Drogba on the bench, supplementing the theory that the Ivorian and Fernando Torres are not a match made in heaven.

Torres had a miserable game, with several chances coming the Spaniard’s way although the 26-year-old was not able to take any of them and it was no surprise to see the Spaniard withdrawn in the second half.

David Luiz made his full debut for Chelsea and the Brazilian gave an accomplished performance for 92 minutes until needlessly hacking down Clint Dempsey in his own penalty area which saw Fulham awarded a penalty.

The American stepped up to take the kick but Petr Cech was equal to the penalty which allowed Chelsea to take a point from the west London derby although the twelve-point gap between themselves and Manchester United is surely too big.

Once again, it was a case of the Blues being unable to break down a mean defence, with Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda unable to sufficiently trouble Mark Schwarzer from long range.

It will be interesting to see whether Carlo Ancelotti continues with Fernando Torres in the next game or restores Didier Drogba to the team.

The bookmakers odds on Chelsea to win this years Premier League are now 20/1 with Victor Chandler.