Chelsea dominated early proceedings as Nicolas Jackson struck the post after connecting with Enzo Fernández’s cross. Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill also tested Alex Palmer as Noni Madueke looked especially dangerous, but Stamford Bridge was soon silenced as Ipswich took a shock lead.
Ben Johnson ran down the wing in a rare break for the visitors before picking out Julio Enciso, who swept home a lovely finish into the bottom corner. Just after the half-hour mark, the Tractor Boys stunned the locals again as they doubled their lead before HT, with the same two players combining.
This time, Enciso crossed for Johnson to head into the far corner during what turned out to be a damaging first half for the hosts.
To their credit, Chelsea responded almost immediately in the second half. Madueke crossed into a dangerous area and Axel Tuanzebe could only divert the ball into his own net to halve the deficit.
Pedro Neto then tried his luck, but A. Palmer was equal to his effort. Ipswich, though, still posed a threat down the other end, as Enciso threatened to score another as his strike was gathered by Robert Sánchez.
Nonetheless, Chelsea’s quality shone through in the latter stages, as substitute Jadon Sancho netted a brilliant equaliser. Cole Palmer played a short corner to him, and he curled beautifully into the far corner from outside the area to at least rescue a point.
It was enough for Chelsea to climb up to fifth and into the UCL places, but it will still feel like two points dropped at home against a team bound for relegation.
Ipswich can still take encouragement from their performance, but they are 14 points from safety with just 18 left to play for, as they missed the chance to record a historic second-ever league double over the Blues.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julio Enciso (Ipswich Town)
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