Right cross would be Chelsea knockout

Ranieri has a stubborn loyalty to Jesper Gronkjaer, the dashing Dane who is terrific at getting to the by-line but pretty hopeless at where he places the ball when he gets there. The Italian makes excuses for him, blaming his poor performance on tiredness. That is not good enough.

Chelsea's coach insisted during the post-match inquest that he is well served from the flanks, but there are those sitting high in the executive section of the ground who may beg to differ.

This was Manchester United's problem at Wolves, too, during their surprise defeat on Saturday, but the delivery of the final ball is an area in which Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg excel for Arsenal.

Quite why Duff was sitting on the bench in the first half yesterday must remain a mystery, for there was not much balance to the Chelsea side in the first 45 minutes.

Ranieri repeats that his priority is building a side for the future rather than keeping pace with his two title rivals; that the expectation from the man who matters is not a trophy but a transition towards greatness.

He said: 'It was frustrating today. We tried to do everything but their goalkeeper was the man of the match, which means he made some great saves. We had some great chances in the second half but the luck wasn't with us.'

Birmingham performed admirably. Steve Bruce's squad was severely depleted - no David Dunn, Christophe Dugarry or Mikael Forssell - but unlike Bolton and Liverpool, the last two victors at the Bridge who each played with a fiveman midfield, he was brave enough to go for a 4-4-2. They were also without England defender Matthew Upson, yet still kept a disciplined shape and balance. Birmingham's work ethic was flawless, with Robbie Savage at the heart of the resistance.

Yet the real star of the afternoon was the goalkeeper who was on loan from Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham. Maik Taylor offered a large presence to the home strikers and kept Birmingham's clean sheet intact with five minutes of the game left by standing tall in the face of Hasselbaink's effort.

When Chelsea review the video of the game, they will look at the lost opportunities - when Glen Johnson could not convert a deep cross by Hasselbaink and when the Holland striker himself headed down and wide from Wayne Bridge's better cross.

Joe Cole, who started wide on the left but who is clearly happier at the heart of matters, curled a lovely shot against the post. When Gronkjaer did get in his one good cross of the game just before the interval, Taylor climbed magnificently to deny Gudjohnsen.

Just as Wolves snatched a goal on Saturday, so Savage might have done two minutes into the second half, shooting wide as Makelele was almost caught dawdling.

But the escape of the afternoon came when Olivier Tebily hooked a William Gallas shot off the line.

Ranieri realised it was not his day when Adrian Mutu's wonderful ball gave Hasselbaink the chance to volley a winner, only for Taylor to get a foot in the way. It was that kind of ordeal for Chelsea.