Ipswich’s wait is over. Portman Road won their first Premier League win since April 2002. Chelsea’s title fight, such as it was, will not last until 2025. Two defeats and a draw over the holidays leave them ten points behind Liverpool, meaning they can no longer hold on so much coattails as leave dust.

The damage was done by Liam Delap, winning a penalty which he fired home, then setting up Omari Hutchinson for a second with a stunning effort. If Ipswich and Kieran McKenna revived hope in the fight against relegation, Enzo Maresca’s goals for Chelsea will change to staying in the top four.

Maresca’s reputation as a decisive coach was boosted by replacing Robert Sánchez with Filip Jörgensen after a costly goalkeeping error against Fulham, while there were five changes following the Boxing Day defeat. With a sizeable squad and clear signs of fatigue, the selection resembled a Conference League selection, particularly with the presence of João Félix in the forward line. Nicolas Jackson was rested while Christopher Nkunku was the most central player in the attacking unit. A selection born of fatigue or Ipswich’s status as one of the last three clubs without a home win all season?

McKenna joined a club he was closely linked with last summer but the job eventually ended up in the hands of Maresca, a rival in last season’s promotion race to the Championship and looking to extend Chelsea’s blue Christmas. He also replaced a goalkeeper, Christian Walton replaced Arijanet Muric. While Walton made his first appearance since the opening day, Nathan Broadhead made his first Premier League start.

As is often the case, his team started with great enthusiasm, Delap crashing into Levi Colwill with unusual intent. Broadhead almost got on the scoresheet in the opening moments, only for his shot from a Hutchinson pass to be deflected by Tosin Adarabioyo and sent him to safety. This early energy was rewarded. Leif Davis’ ball sent Delap away and Jörgensen made a hasty tackle. The punishment was duly awarded. Did Delap emphasize contact? It looked like this. Chelsea’s fall was decent, but the referee’s request was obeyed.

Delap drilled home, perhaps he could have scored another goal shortly afterwards, only for Jörgensen to partially redeem himself. Chelsea were sluggish, as lethargic in attack as they were in defence, and Félix seemed unable to stay upright when an Ipswich player came near him. His new signing remains a mystery. Nkunku was also slow to get going when Cole Palmer’s free-kick, taken with typical sluggishness, hit the post. The Frenchman failed to beat Walton, something Jörgensen had previously failed to do.

Ipswich’s weak underbelly, which weighs on a team that wins hearts through its commitment to attacking play, was exposed when Palmer’s pass put Félix in position to score and then mount an elaborate celebration against the haters. The problem for the former playmaker with over 100 million euros was that he was half a meter offside. Worryingly for Ipswich, Palmer was now moving purposefully with far too much freedom, while Moisés Caicedo, who had a try canceled out, was gaining influence.

Delap remained dangerous on the counterattack, forcing a save at the post from Jörgensen, which in turn was canceled out by Walton acrobatically tipping over a Palmer rocket. The Wythenshawe wizard could only smile ruefully, confident of expecting more where this came from.

As if spurred on by an insult from the Italian dressing room, Chelsea started the second half with greater energy. Wes Burns had to head Félix’s header off the line. Noni Madueke increased Walton’s saves at his near post. This intense pressure presented Ipswich with existential questions. Surely there is more to life in the Premier League than just last-minute defense and crisp aerial attacks.

The answer came in the explosion of noise and joy that followed their second goal. Axel Disasi, close to a headline writer’s dream, played a terrible no-look pass into Delap’s run. The striker reacted as the retreating defenders tried to guess the intentions. A poked pass gave Hutchinson the opportunity to score against a club that dropped him after two senior appearances. He celebrated with a rehabilitating backflip.

Maresca’s immediate reaction was to end Félix’s evening after a performance to further deepen the mystery. Jackson came in to give the forward line a more familiar shape. Nkunku soon departed after a not much less effective evening, Jadon Sancho was the last attempt to respond to what had become a creative foul and Palmer had to drop deeper to find a way back into the game. Meanwhile, Delap, a one-man battering ram who fended off defenders and won fouls, was having the time of his life.

By passing the ball past Caicedo and then deflecting from Marc Cucurella, he forced another save from Jörgensen, whose performance as the game progressed showed how wise Maresca’s selection was in this regard. During Jackson’s attempted rescue mission, he missed a tackle, and his colleagues began to seethe with frustration when Palmer delivered a passenger. Ipswich may believe this could be the right thing to do after previous disappointments.