Chelsea escape humiliation but Ipswich draw raises worrying issues

Independent

13-04-2025

Jadon Sancho 's stunning late goal capped a second-half fightback as Chelsea recovered from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca was facing surely the worst defeat of his tenure when Julio Enciso's tap-in and Ben Johnson's header put struggling Ipswich in sight of a famous win that would have kept alive their faint hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
Chelsea hit back and reduced the arrears in the first minute after half-time, Marc Cucurella 's presence at the near post forcing an own goal from Axel Tuanzebe, before Sancho sent relief around the ground by curling in his first goal since December.
The Blues will still see the result as two points dropped in the race for Champions League qualification, however.
Nicolas Jackson struck a post in the eighth minute after being set up by Enzo Fernandez's cut-back, then Noni Madueke brought a near-post save from Alex Palmer following Pedro Neto's neat, deep cross.
Ipswich's goalkeeper was alert to fling himself and get two hands on Levi Colwill's close-range header as Chelsea piled on huge early pressure and the visitors struggled to draw breath.
And so it was from nowhere that Ipswich went in front. Enciso had scored a stunning 30-yard effort on this ground for Brighton in April 2023 and, though this was a less spectacular finish, it had a similar impact.
George Hirst carried the ball forward and moved it wide for Johnson, whose low cross from the right was highly inviting, leaving Enciso to simply put out a foot and guide it past Robert Sanchez.
There was then the highly unusual sight of Sanchez shooing his defenders upfield at a goal-kick, bypassing Maresca's preferred build-up play.
Sanchez hoofed it long and the ball came straight back at Chelsea, Jack Clarke driving on and finding Enciso, who crossed to the far post where Johnson was waiting to nod home.
The flag immediately went up against Enciso, but the new semi-automated offside system intervened and Ipswich were two up.
The boos that greeted Chelsea as they left the pitch at half-time were the biggest noise the home fans had mustered to that point, but it was eclipsed 18 seconds into the second half when their team began their fightback.
Straight from kick-off Fernandez moved the ball wide on the right to Madueke, who ran it to the byline and pulled back for Cucurella arriving at the near post to shovel it against Tuanzebe and in.
Hirst then came within a whisker of restoring the two-goal lead with a brilliant, swinging drive that flashed inches wide before moments later failing to make proper contact with a header when unmarked six yards out.
Sancho levelled 12 minutes from time to rescue Chelsea and his effort could not have landed much more perfectly in the top corner.
Trevoh Chalobah ought to have won it with a late header that he powered down into the ground and over the bar. Cole Palmer was then denied by a full-stretch save from his namesake in the Ipswich goal in stoppage time.