Chelsea failed to take full advantage of their game in hand at the top of the table as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Hull City.
Drogba marks return but Hull go toe-to-toe with leaders
Chelsea failed to take full advantage of their game in hand at the top of the Premier League as Didier Drogba could only mark his return with an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Hull City.
The build-up to the match had centred on the furore surrounding John Terry, and Steven Mouyokolo had threatened to pile further misery on the under-fire Chelsea and England captain with a headed goal in the 30th minute.
However, Drogba, back from African Cup of Nations action, equalised three minutes before half-time as he expertly curled a free-kick around a shoddy Hull wall to embarrass Boaz Myhill.
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.
Terry himself had been named as Chelsea's captain for the second match, having nodded the Blues to three points at Burnley on Saturday, since allegations of his private life hit the headlines.
After a so-called 'super injunction' was overturned by the High Court, widespread reports have stated that the centre-back had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of England team-mate Wayne Bridge, and rumours suggest that further revelations are imminent.
Debate surrounding Terry's suitability as England skipper has therefore increased in magnitude since the outing at Turf Moor and a meeting with Fabio Capello regarding the subject is predicted to take place on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
The 29-year-old, though, was a relative passenger and seemed unaffected by constant booing when joined in club manager Ancelotti's starting XI by Drogba and the returning Ricardo Carvalho.
England left-back Ashley Cole was on the bench as a precaution due to injury, while Hull showed just one change from their 2-2 draw with Wolves as Craig Fagan replaced Bernard Mendy, with January loan signing Amr Zaki a substitute.
Terry was greeted by taunts from those already inside the KC Stadium when he emerged from the dressing room to lead his side out for their pre-match warm-up and Hull seemed intent on offering the defender a similarly difficult start to the match.
Infamous weakness
A couple of early Stephen Hunt set-plays, an infamous weakness of Ancelotti's side, had the Chelsea backline under the nose of the nervous Petr Cech, but the Blues soon found a bit of stability.
Frank Lampard unleashed a trademark, swerving long-range effort which Myhill did well to palm but the Hull goalkeeper was fortunate to see Nicolas Anelka surprisingly make a hash of the rebound as the Frenchman mishit.
Hull, however, continued to pressure their opponents while Chelsea were struggling for rhythm as Michael Ballack, usually a reliable figure in the air, headed a Branislav Ivanovic cross at Myhill.
Shortly after, Ivanovic's clumsiness at the other end of the field was exposed. The Serb has had a consistent season but he can at times look leaden footed and a trip on Jozy Altidore earned a booking.
The resulting free-kick was headed behind by Carvalho and from the corner Hunt demonstrated why Hull spent the winter transfer window rejecting Wolves' advances as his perfect delivery was headed home by Mouyokolo on the half-hour mark.
Cech had been unable to make an attempt to claim the set-piece due to a cunning shield from Fagan, which had doubtless been prepared to take advantage of
