One hundred million of the folding stuff may be able to do a lot of things in life but one thing it can’t achieve, it appears, is a breaking down of the damn hoodoo Blackburn Rovers hold over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

That the Lancashire side have never lost here in the Premiership is now a well known fact but in addition to this, you have to look back as far as 1966 to find the last Chelsea top flight victory in this fixture.

Doing something about this perpetual annoyance will have to wait another season then after this sharing of the honours but at least a draw continues our unbeaten start, and in all fairness, a win didn’t ever really look there for the taking, especially after being made to come back from twice falling behind, the first time from a shockingly early set-back.

Andy Cole may be past his prime but you wouldn’t know it from the way he has started this season. He had two goals from one start and two sub appearances before today and it took him a mere 19 seconds to make his mark this afternoon.

Blackburn advanced with the first attack of the game, only for Marcel Desailly to win possession from Jansen, but with the ball heading out of play, the captain’s attempt to keep the ball in went horribly wrong.

Jansen regained control, crossed low and Cole thumped a volley home. Talk about taking the wind out of our sails! We would now have to react to being behind for the first time this season.

Initially the response was unconvincing. Cudicini had to turn a Jansen shot around the post before Geremi and Lampard managed to at last test Friedel with straightish efforts.

Veron’s touches were mostly not coming off while Damien Duff, who suffered no adverse reaction from the Blackburn fans, was finding it hard come across chances to exhibit his skills.

On 18 minutes, Ranieri shuffled his stuttering midfield pack. Duff had again started on the right but now went left with Veron moving from that wing to the middle. It meant Geremi would operate down the right flank for the first time this season.

For the remainder of the half, the cheerful Cameroonian would provide more dangerous ball than any other source so far this campaign but before that, an angled low ball from Duff had evaded Mutu’s boot by inches only.

The Romanian was continuing to impress. Mobile, nippy and so well balanced, he had been threatening to combine with colleague to make a clear opening throughout and on the half-hour, he got on the end of one.

Jimmy had come deep and he drove the ball wide to Geremi who crossed low. Mutu applied the finishing touch, wheeled away to celebrate only to swap joy for despondency when the lineman’s flag was spotted. It was a controversial moment.

The Chelsea striker was clearly behind the ball when Geremi crossed so can’t have been contravening any regulation at that point and when he received Hasselbaink’s pass the flag remained down. The one explanation for the decision is that Mutu was considered both in an offside position (true) and active (debatable) when that Jimmy to Geremi pass was made.

With Chelsea still cursing our luck, we were almost made to suffer even further when Blackburn went straight down the other end and curled a shot just wide through Thompson.

Duff chipped and volleyed over then Bridge struck straight at Friedel and it looked like we would go down the tunnel at half-time behind.

But Mutu wasn’t to be denied his second goal in his second game and it came with referee Styles already thinking about which biscuit he would have with his half-time cuppa.

Veron started the move with a ball through the middle, Lampard exchanged touches with Hasselbaink and then played a lovely weighted ball into the path of Mutu who with supreme sharpness, took two touches to round the keeper and finish. No linesman’s flag this time.

The most significant action of the half had all been compressed within 30 seconds of its start and end and the second half began with another Chelsea change.

Duff came off with Petit replacing him as the midfield now moved into a diamond shape, fronted by Veron with Geremi now on the left, Petit at the back and Lampard right.

Chelsea’s first attempt after the break was Veron banging a shot over from 30 yards and it was a concern that unlike previous years down here, Brad Friedel in the Blackburn goal was not having to play a blinder to keep us at bay.

Instead it was the other goalkeeper that became the big story. Tugay went down rather easily as John Terry went to challenge him and from 25 yards out, Cudicini was characteristically agile to tip Thompson’s free-kick over from just under the bar.

From the resultant corner, Carlo’s response was anything but characteristic. It was played short to Thompson who crossed over Petit’s leap and when Cudicini fluffed his two-fisted punch, the ball fell to Cole at the back post who sidefooted in.

At least the wait to get back on terms was a short one. A pass down the line by Bridge was met by a Mutu touch off. Geremi crossed with his unfavoured left and just inside his own area, Lucas Neill raised his hand to block.

Hasselbaink now had the memory of his only Chelsea penalty miss hanging over him from his last attempt in Malaysia but this time there was no mistake as he opened his body and drove the ball low to Friedel’s left and in.

The game entered a physical phase with Petit clearly upset about a perceived elbow by Flitcroft which resulted in treatment plus an in-the-face verbal exchange when the Chelsea man returned to the pitch. The rough stuff continued with rapid succession bookings for Amoruso and Thompson.

Thankfully it was back to football action and rising tension as despite the lack of fluid play, the Chelsea crowd sensed a late winner.
Veron and Hasselbaink worked an unusual free-kick which the latter smacked wide but then at the other end, Cudicini had to fall sharply to smoother substitute Gallagher’s shot after a corner.

With quarter-of-an-hour to go, the Mutu threat was removed by Ranieri but it was replaced by the advent of Hernan Crespo’s Chelsea career.

The service he needed to write his fairytale start couldn’t be found however although he was wrongly flagged offside when chasing a penetrating throughball.

Instead it was his compatriot who fired Chelsea’s final bullet, Veron’s free-kick being deflected over.

Blackburn’s final flourish came in injury time when Flitcroft almost dipped the ball in from the edge of the area after a Lampard mistake but you sensed the visitors were happy with the draw.

So in the end it was two mistakes from two of Chelsea’s most dependable players that cost the team dear today although the disallowed goal can also be pointed at with some cause for grievance.

It always sticks in the throat when a 100 per cent record reaches its end – puncturing those ridiculous dreams of the perfect season. But we remain in touch, Mutu increasingly looks the part and the story continues to be anything but boring in these oh-so early days.

The late summer sun mixed with an early autumn nip in the air seemed wholly appropriate conditions for an afternoon of fluctuating emotions at Stamford Bridge.

M-O-T-M=Mutu