Yossi Fadhli World News and Entertainment

Lee Bowyer’s cool finish took spirited Birmingham out of the relegation zone and sent Chelsea crashing to a third Premier League defeat in four games.

Bowyer ran on to Cameron Jerome’s cushioned header to fire the only goal past keeper Petr Cech after 17 minutes.

The champions missed a host of chances, with Didier Drogba going closest when his wonderful header hit the bar.

But the home side also defended superbly and keeper Ben Foster made some stunning saves to secure the win.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will no doubt feel his side deserved their victory, not least for their hugely impressive rearguard action, although no-one could argue they were slightly fortunate to be ahead at the interval.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men were heavily criticised for a sloppy defensive display in the humbling 3-0 home defeat by Sunderland last week, and they began with the look of a side desperate to prove it was a mere blip.

But Chelsea, who only remain top of the Premier League on goal difference following Manchester United’s victory over Wigan, wasted at least five glorious chances before the break and that set the tone for a frustrating afternoon in the west Midlands.

The return of Alex at centre-half seemed to do the trick in restoring confidence to the Chelsea ranks, while Paulo Ferreira’s switch to right-back and Salomon Kalou’s recall certainly helped the balance.

And in a bright start from the visitors, the lively if somewhat erratic Kalou rolled an early effort wide after a wonderful first-time chest pass from Drogba.

The pair then switched roles and Kalou teed up a one-on-one chance for his fellow Ivorian with a glorious pass but Foster narrowed the angle expertly to pull off the first of a series of impressive saves.

Despite Chelsea’s early promise it was the one change that Birmingham had made to their starting XI that proved the game’s decisive moment.

Bowyer, only selected because of an ankle injury to Craig Gardner, was afforded the freedom of the penalty box on 17 minutes and the 33-year-old rolled back the years to burst through and coolly slot past Cech.

Although the goal came through the heart of the much-talked-about Chelsea defence, it was the midfield’s failure to track Bowyer’s run that allowed him to get on the end of Jerome’s astute nod down.

Chelsea continued to dictate the terms, though, and the chances continued to come – mainly for Drogba.

First the striker forced a staggering save from Foster, who dived low to his left to keep out the striker’s fierce close-range downward header from Nicolas Anelka’s cross.

Foster also denied Drogba from a deflected free-kick and then last season’s Premier League top scorer saw his sensational header crash back off the corner of post and bar and to safety.

Ashley Cole also forced a decent block from Foster at his near post after exchanging passes with Kalou – and Ivanovic and Alex and both headed over from Malouda corners.

The only noteworthy opportunity at the other end almost led to a freak goal for Jerome when an Alex clearance rebounded off the striker but went just wide.

Alex McLeish’s side tightened up after the break, standing off Chelsea and letting them have possession until the final third.

The tactics worked for 30 minutes as Chelsea, still desperately missing Frank Lampard and Michael Essien at the heart of the midfield, dominated possession but barely threatened the home goal.

A rare attempt on goal from Carlo Ancelotti’s men saw the excellent Roger Johnson make a last-ditch challenge to prevent Ramires firing at goal and although Chelsea screamed for a penalty, referee Mark Halsey seemed to get his call spot-on.

That signalled the start of a frantic last 15 minutes and Drogba saw another free-kick saved by Foster while Kalou headed wide.

Birmingham’s excellent defensive organisation was being stretched to the limit as Chelsea piled forward.

Ivanovic had the pick of the chances but his towering header from Malouda’s cross was somehow beaten away by the inspired England keeper.

But there was no late boost and Chelsea slipped to successive league defeats for the first time in four-and-a-half years after a miserable week in which assistant manager Ray Wilkins was also sacked.

And the home side went on to earn only their second league success in 12 games and their first league win over Chelsea since 1980.

Barclays Premier League table snapshot

As it stood on 20 Nov 2010 23:59 UK

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
1	Chelsea	14	19	28
2	Man Utd	14	13	28
3	Arsenal	14	13	26
4	Bolton	14	6	22
5	Man City	13	5	22
6	Tottenham	14	2	22
7	Sunderland	13	2	19
8	Stoke	14	0	19
9	Liverpool	14	-1	19
10	Newcastle	14	1	18
11	Blackpool	14	-6	18
12	Aston Villa	13	-3	17
13	Birmingham	14	-2	16
14	West Brom	14	-9	16
15	Everton	13	1	15
16	Blackburn	13	-3	15
17	Fulham	13	0	14
18	Wigan	14	-13	14
19	Wolves	14	-11	9
20	West Ham	14	-14	9