Chelsea's title dreams are over with fourth spot and Champions League looking problematic following this dire 1-1 draw against Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
An early second half goal from Juan Mata looked to be the boost Chelsea needed to get their title ambitions back on track, but Clint Dempsey responded within minutes to thwart the Blues.
That was three 1-1 draws with a week for Chelsea and six dropped points.
A chase for a top four spot, is looking like Chelsea's only realistic league ambitions for 2012. Fulham, by contrast can take great hope that with discipline at the back and a shade of good fortune up front, they can avoid a dogfight at the wrong end of the table. Fernando Torres had the first chance of the game on five minutes, after Daniel Sturridge sent in an excellent right, byline cross.
But the Spain forward was not quick enough to the ball and he sliced it out of play.
Fulham responded well and, on eight minutes, Chelsea's Petr Cech was forced into a full diving save from a Clint Dempsey long-range effort.
The goalkeeper, tipping the ball around his right post for a corner. The visitors had an excellent chance to go ahead on 15 minutes when Orlando Sa headed over Cech's cross bar from close range.
Seconds later and Torres's chest and volley from a Juan Mata pass, produced a fine blocking save from Fulham's goalkeeper David Stockdale, the first of many this afternoon.
Sturridge then had a rasping left footer from the edge of the Fulham penalty area, but the effort faded wide of goal at the last moment.
Fulham, while content to 'park the bus' were also happy to count-attack. And on 26 minutes the tactic almost work, resulting in livewire Mousa Dembele letting fly a left-footer from just outside the Chelsea area, which cut across Cech and inched wide of the goalkeeper's left upright.
Oriel Romeu responded in kind on 30 minutes but his 20-yarder was always going high and wide. Raul Meireles had a similar effort three minutes later - but with the same result.
Dembele got on the end of Dempsey's cross to head towards goal on 43 minutes but unfortunately for Fulham the header was not powerful enough to trouble Cech who gleefully snaffled the effort. within two minutes of the restart and finally a decent effort on goal from the home side resulted in the Blues taking the lead. Ashley Cole, on the left crossed into the Fulham penalty area to Torres.
The Spain striker held the ball up well before laying it off to Mata who swiped a first-time left footer from the edge of the box into the back of Stockdale's net.
It was the midfielder's fifth goal for the Blues. John Arne Riise cleared a Terry volley off the line a minute later. But the lead was short-lived as Fulham reacted positively. On 56 minutes, Bryan Ruiz skinned Cole on the left before sending in a low ball into the box.
The ball was too far in front of Cech to get to, and in-running Clint Dempsey got ahead of David Luiz and tapped in a right-footer from eight yards out.
Dempsey had another shot five minutes later which out have given the visitors' the lead but Cech was its equal. Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas ended Frank Lampard's time on the pitch on 61 minutes replacing him with Florent Malouda.
The increasingly frustrated home crowd demanded a penalty two minutes later when Torres went to ground but referee Kevin Friend ignored their appeal. Sturridge once again showed why his is Chelsea's top scorer, but was again thwarted by Stockdale who then produced a even better stop to prevent Malouda back-heeling the ball into the net on 65 minutes.
Didier Drogba entered the fray on 70 minutes, replacing Sturridge. The Ivory Coast striker was soon in action, latching onto a long hoof from Luiz, but, again Stockdale was perfectly positioned to block the striker's shot.
Meireles was unlucky to see a curler from the edge of the box with 10 minutes remaining creep just wide of Stockdale's left post.
Villas-Boas was forced to make his third change, on 81 minutes, bringing on Paulo Ferreira for Bosingwa who left the pitch clutching his left hamstring, while Fulham boss Martin Jol replaced Sa with Pajtim Kasami a minute later. With four minutes left on the clock, Stockdale tipped over a Meireles header for a corner, before denying Drogba with a glancing header and following that up by halting Malouda' fierce drive.
.Fulham could have snatched it in injury time but Kasami's low left-footer from just inside the Chelsea area was saved by Cech. Stockdale, easily the man of the match, then prevented Drogba from scoring when his 30 yard free-kick seemed to be dipping at the last moment into the net.