Newcastle Utd, 0 Chelsea 0:There are days when it is impossible to tell the tension from the tedium. Any excitement at St James' Park was all in the mind of a home crowd responding to their side's forcefulness and a Chelsea support fantasising about a late winner to reduce Manchester United's lead to a single point. Those visitors did not quite get their way, with substitute Joe Cole sliding a Paulo Ferreira cross wide in stoppage-time.

There had been no barrage from Jose Mourinho's team and, three points behind, the reigning champions are still not masters of their fate. Morale has to be shored up and it is true this was an unremarkable result, in view of the fact Chelsea have not won a Premiership match at this stadium since December 2001.

Mourinho was probably being serious when he alleged a conspiracy, even though exhibit A was nothing more than the inadvertent contact Stephen Carr's arm had made with a Didier Drogba cut-back in the 10th minute. It should be borne in mind a virtuoso manager, just like a conjuror, must be capable of diverting the audience's attention.

On this occasion Mourinho will fail because no one could be distracted from the inconsequentiality of Chelsea's display. Newcastle justifiably demand credit for that and Glenn Roeder pointed out Arsenal had been nullified here in the same fashion. The manager agreed his centre half Steven Taylor had been outstanding, particularly since the right-footer was switched to the left side of the partnership at the core of the back four.

Nonetheless the pallid showing by the champions surely had deeper causes. Whether in mind or body, they were depleted and Frank Lampard, for instance, posed no threat. The schedule had tracked them down at last, confronting Chelsea with their human fallibility. They could not wriggle out of the drabness.

A 10th consecutive Premiership victory was never within reach and Chelsea left the north-east reviewing the difficulties that now beset them. The injured Ricardo Carvalho is not expected to be ready for the start of the Champions League semi-final with Liverpool on Wednesday and Michael Essien, who deputised, is suspended for that fixture.

Michael Ballack, who went off in the 18th minute with an ankle injury after a tackle by Titus Bramble, is a severe doubt as well. The famous resilience of Chelsea will have to be flaunted again. In certain respects their hardiness was evident here in a game that could have been lost.

Unable to call on Steve Harper for a single save, they had to keep Newcastle at bay. That was no mean task against opponents with all the energy of men whose departure from the Uefa Cup left them with a rather light schedule.

Roeder's statement in the match programme that his side must now qualify for the Intertoto Cup was soporific, more of a call to armchair than a call to arms, but his dressingroom demand that his side show the "courage" to take on the champions must have been more rousing. As early as the second minute Petr Cech, under pressure from Antoine Sibierski, could not take a Nolberto Solano cross and Ferreira then sliced the ball up in the air.

The right back has declined with each season at Chelsea and James Milner would not allow him to regain poise here. Newcastle were bright and the winger rolled a clever reverse pass to Carr for a cross in the 34th minute that broke from John Terry. Chelsea were usually too jaded for such artfulness until Joe Cole was introduced.

While Newcastle have no intentions of rushing the comeback of Michael Owen - that is being hindered by a minor groin strain - the lack of a finisher was glaring. The impressive Nicky Butt interrupted his checking of Chelsea in the 59th minute to send Kieron Dyer through on the right but, from an angle, he did not come close to getting the better of Cech.

Chelsea were at least harassed and even in the depths of stoppage time, when they might have been expected to mount an onslaught, the visitors were in enough jeopardy for a moment that John Obi Mikel thumped the ball into the stands.

As Mourinho argued, his team's situation in the Premiership is still far better than was expected a few months ago. Three of their remaining four fixtures are at home but that will help only if it sends energy flowing back into the squad.

Although Chelsea and United are rivals, they have fatigue as a common enemy.