Chelsea 1 Birmingham City 1: match report
Read a full match report of the FA Cup fifth round game between Chelsea and Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday Feb 18 2012.
Daniel Sturridge’s 62nd minute header spared Chelsea from a humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship side Birmingham City but Saturday’s unconvincing 1-1 draw will do little to ease the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas.
The home side recovered after falling behind to David Murphy’s first half goal to earn a fifth round replay.
But the chorus of boos as the players left the Stamford Bridge pitch confirmed this had been another sub-standard display from Villas-Boas’s side.
Birmingham fully deserved the opportunity to take this tie back to St Andrew’s where they will justifiably believe they have a good opportunity of reaching the quarter-finals.
For Villas-Boas, though, there was no resolution to the problems that have dogged Chelsea’s season.