Courtois hands Stoke point

MAME DIOUF stunned Chelsea with al ate equaliser as Stoke battled back to earn a point at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea appeared to be on their way to a fourth straight win – and about to leapfrog Stoke in the table–thanks to a memorable goal from youngster Bertrand Traore.

Traore was a surprise starter in attack for the home side, with Diego Costa absent through injury.

But Diouf, who had missed two gilt- edged chances in the first half, made amends by taking advantage of a rare Thibaut Courtois slip to snatch a deserved point.

T ra ore, usually a midfielder, was asked to lead the Blues attack on only his second start, with Costa missing, apparently due to a minor tendon injury, with Wednesday’ s Champions League return against Paris Saint- Germain firmly in mind.

Yet it was his surprise replacement whose stunning strike put the Blues ahead at the interval.

Nemanja Matic won possession in midfield six minutes before the break, and played in Traore five yards outside the box.

The 20-year-old’s initial touch took him away from goal but, with no Stoke player in a hurry to close him down, he turned back inside and lashed a superb shot across Jack Butland from 20 yards.

He had momentarily looked at a loss as to what to do with the ball when he received it just outside the box, but made the right choice with a thunderous strike.

Yet Stoke had been the better side for much of the first half, troubling Chelsea on the break time and again through Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Diouf should have opened the scoring when Afellay raced down the left and curled an inviting