heart breaker chelsea toture qpr with disappointin finish

It had certainly had Roman Abramovich on his feet and it is probably a reason why Mourinho talks of managing for another 20 years. When you have the opportunity to work with players like this, why would you ever want it to end?

That said, Chelsea’s manager will want to address this issue of allowing opponents to get back into a contest when his side are so dominant.

It happened at Manchester United last weekend and it almost occurred again here, Austin proving that if was once so in awe of John Terry he asked to have his picture taken with Chelsea’s captain, there were no signs of any enduring inferiority complex here.

He produced a quite brilliant equaliser to add another chapter to the remarkable story of his rise from non-league to the Premier League, diverting Leroy Fer’s scuffed volley beyond the reach of Thibaut Courtois after the Chelsea goalkeeper had punched clear a cross from Vargas.

To say it came against the run of play would be an understatement, even if QPR had started the second half rather better than they performed in the first.

But all it took was another shift up in gear from Chelsea and they were back in front, albeit thanks to the foolish challenge of Vargas on the rapidly-advancing Hazard in the 75th minute. The Chilean was on the wrong side of Hazard when he attempted to barge the Belgian off the ball, and left Michael Jones little option but to point to the penalty spot.

In fairness to Chelsea, it was no less than they deserved. They had much the better chances and enjoyed the majority of the possession, with players like Oscar every bit as impressive for the way they tracked back to regain the ball.

It leaves Chelsea nine points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal, 12 ahead of Liverpool and 13 clear of Manchester United. Machine-like they certainly are. Mesmerising too at times. 

Chelsea players pause for a minute's silence in respect for Remembrance Day

QPR's starting line-up also observed the minute's silence and had poppies printed on their shirts

Chelsea right back Branislav Ivanovic and QPR centre back Steven Caulker compete for the ball

The Serbian ace keeps a close eye on Yun Suk-Young during the first half of the west London derby

Eden Hazard (right) goes down in the area under a challenge from Queens Park Rangers' Brazilian midfielder Sandro (left)

A furious looking Diego Costa exchanges words with Karl Henry as Premier League referee Mike Jones

QPR chairman Tony Fernandes watched his side take on Chelsea alongside former Rangers midfielder Ji-Sung Park