Chelsea 1 - 1 Charlton Athletic

A DEBUT goal from striker Marcus Bent earned Charlton a surprise but deserved point from Sunday's Premiership clash against champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Eidur Gudjohnsen gave the home side the lead after 19 minutes when he was on hand to force the ball into the net after Addicks keeper Thomas Myhre had failed to hold Hernan Crespo's initial header.

But Charlton came back into the game and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 59th minutes when Bent got on the end of a Darren Ambrose pass to lob a header over the advancing Petr Cech.

Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho was dismissed for a second yellow card after a lunge on Darren Bent with eight minutes to play and Charlton could have nicked it late on but Cech produced a fine block with his legs to deny Ambrose.

Charlton: Myhre, Young, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Powell, Kishishev, Holland, Hughes, Rommedahl (M Bent 40), Ambrose (Bartlett 90), D Bent.
Subs Not Used: Andersen, Perry, Spector.
Attendance: 41,355.