Chelsea were humilitaed at home again as they saw their deams of a date at Wembley in February evaporate as they lost 2-0 at home to Swansea City in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge.
Two horrendous error by Branislav Ivanovic, one in each half gifted the Welsh side the goals that served to heap pressure on interim manager Rafa Benitez who decided to start with two-goal hero Demba Ba on the bench alongside Frank Lampard.
Benitez's insistent on his so-called rotation system could prove catastrophic if the Blues fail to overturn the tie in the second leg, in two weeks' time.
Both side started off confidently, playing intricate passing game.
The first effort of sort fell to Branislav Ivanovic on seven minutes when he glanced a header from Eden Hazard, on the left. The ball looped over Gerhard Tremmel's goal.
Two minutes later Fernando Torres, restored to the side for his 100th game for the Blues, tried a turn and shot from just outside the Swansea penalty area, the result? The ball hit row z of the Shed.
A brilliant move involving David Luiz, Oscar, and Oscar minute later, saw Ramires race into the area. The Brazil midfielder zipped past two defenders but could only toe-poke straight to Tremmel from close range.
Right on cue at 16 minutes, the Chelsea fans rose to clap and chant the name of Roberto Di Matteo, who is now becoming the symbol of the fans disquiet as to the route the club is taking - something they don't like at all.
Then Michu, tried his luck from 25 yards after a spell of pressure from the Welsh side.
With little power behind the shot, it still caused Ross Turnbull a bit off anxiety as he had to grab the ball at the second attempt.
Cesar Azpilicueta though he would have a go since everyone else was trying. sadly for the Spanish right-back his effort from 20 yards failed to trouble Tremmel.
Cahill was next up, this time he headed over the cross bar from a curling Hazard right-sided corner on 25 minutes.
Quite how Juan Mata failed to score ion 27 minutes is a mystery after Hazard bisected the Swans rearguard with a fine through ball, leaving the mercurial midfielder with a run on goal. However he responded to the opportunity by trying a left-footed daisy-cutter from the edge of the box which Tremmel gobbled up with glee.
Mata screwed a right-footer just wide of Tremmel's goal on the half hours as a goal seemed destined to come but each time the Blues fell short of the necessary quality in front of goal.
From a simple roll out by Turnbull to Ivanovic on 38 minutes, Chelsea lost the simplest of goals.
The Serbia centre-back was challenged and dispossed by Jonathan De Guzman, the ball fell invitingly to Michu who took one step into the Chelsea area and dispatched the ball past Turnbull with ruthless efficiently, something the Chelsea attacked lacked up to that point.
A booking for Pablo Hernandez for a foul on Oscar raised the temperature of the game with three minutes of the half remaining. This was quickly followed by Ivanovic trying to make amends for his catastrophic error. His fierce 20-yarder saw Tremmel produce the save of the half, diving low to his left to parry the ball around his left upright for a corner.
There were no changes at half-time from either side, and the action was a carbon copy of the first - Chelsea in possession, Swansea comfortably in defence and sharp on the counter-attack.
David Luiz tried his Christiano Ronaldo-style free kick on 56 minutes. But the 25-yarder inched past Tremmel's right post.
When Chelsea did make an effective attack, piercing the Swansea defence as hey did on 59 minutes, Tremmel was again on hand to thwart them, this time a sharp Luiz left-footer from 10 yards, which the goalkeeper got down low to, to smother.
Quite why a fan decided to invade the pitch on 61 minutes is unclear, but it did hold the game up for a minute in which time Swansea made a substitution, bringing on defender Dwight Tiendalli for midfielder Wayne Routledge.
With 19 minutes of the game remaining, Rafael Benitez, Chelsea's interim manager, decided to make his first change, bringing on fans' favourite Frank Lampard for ineffectual Ramires, much to the delight of the majority of e 40,172 fans crowed not Stamford Bridge.
Michu had the ball in the back of the net on 77 minutes but was just a tad offside.
The Chelsea fans for their wish with 10 minutes remaining, they had been calling for the introduction of Demba Ba for 10 minutes. Out of sorts Torres the man to make way for the Senegal striker.
Marko Marin entered the fray three minutes lat for Oscar, while the Swans replaced goal-scoring hero Michu for another striker Danny Graham.
Lampard and Ba conspired to produce a fine effort with the clock ticking, - Ba getting his head to a clipped Lampard pass . Unfortunately for Ba the ball went straight Into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Ba saw another headed effort inch wide of goal as the home side attempted to salvage something from the game.
Ba received a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor for diving but the embarrassment was saved for Ivanovic again, deep into added time when he inexplicably produced a backpass into the paths of Graham who took a touch before planting the ball in the back of the net.
Ba was u luck to see a goal disallowed for offside, adjudged to be offside when TV replays showed he was just inside.
That was the last action as the whistle went and a chorus rang out from the crowd.
Teams: Chelsea - Turnbull, Ivanovic, Cole, Luiz, Ramires, Torres, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Cahill, Azpilicueta
Subs,Hilario, Lampard, Ferreira, Marin, Ba, Bertrand, Ake
Swansea City - Tremmel, Flores, Williams, Britton, Michu, Hernandez, Routledge, De Guzman, Rangel, Sung-Yueng, Davies
Subs- Vorm, Graham, Dyer, Monk, Shechter, Tiendalli, Augustien
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Ends