Chelsea missed the chance to ensure they would stay ahead of Barclays Premier League title rivals Arsenal at the end of the midweek fixtures as Victor Anichebe’s late goal saw West Brom hold them to a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns.

Branislav Ivanovic escaped his marker to fire home from a David Luiz set-piece delivery in first-half stoppage time, and that for a long time looked to have given Jose Mourinho’s side a four-point cushion over second-placed Arsenal, who play Manchester United on Wednesday.

However, Anichebe headed past Petr Cech in the 87th minute to secure a valuable point for the struggling Baggies.

Elsewhere, Southampton claimed a 1-0 win at Hull after a goalmouth scramble resulted in Jose Fonte being awarded the only goal of the game. Southampton defender Fonte had a header well saved before Jay Rodriguez’s follow-up was blocked.

The ball fell to Fonte, whose shot was cleared — although it went over the line — with Goalref later awarding it to Fonte despite Rickie Lambert’s blast home.

West Ham climbed the table following a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Norwich, with James Collins beating John Ruddy to head home the opener and Mohamed Diame adding the second in stoppage time.

It was the Hammers’ third win in a row and lifted them to 10th in the table, with the Canaries just two points clear of the bottom three.

In the other game, Cardiff drew 0-0 against Aston Villa at the Cardiff City Stadium to remain in the bottom three.