Chelsea failed to extend the lead at the top beyond a point after a first home defeat in 38 games on Saturday.

Two red cards in quick succession for Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack proved costly after we surrendered a lead we had worked hard to attain.

Frank Lampard put us in front four minutes before half-time before Carlos Tevez's injury time equaliser, and then Craig Bellamy put City in front just after the break.

Chasing the game we made changes, but manager Carlo Ancelotti's plans were upset when Belletti saw red and Tevez put away a penalty. Ballack saw a second yellow to take us down to nine men, and our visitors made us pay with an incisive counter-attack, Bellamy grabbing his second of the game before a Lampard penalty put us back in touching distance at the death.

The build-up to the game was less about football and more about handshakes, but with fair play ceremonies out of the way the focus could finally change.

Chelsea had Hilario in goal after Petr Cech suffered a torn calf muscle in midweek action, and Florent Malouda continued at left-back after impressing against Inter. Joe Cole made his 300th Premier League appearance as a starter, alongside Nicolas Anelka and tucked in behind Didier Drogba, who before the game was awarded a PFA Player of the Month award for December.

For City, Tevez returned after compassionate leave, and ex-Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge was in the line-up, Shaun Wright-Phillips a substitute.

With all the attention on Bridge and Chelsea captain John Terry's relationship, it was easy to forget there was a game on at all, and the first 10 minutes did little to remind people, the contest finally coming alive as Malouda shot just over from 30 yards.

Five minutes later the same player fouled young City winger Adam Johnson in a dangerous area outside the Chelsea box, and Johnson, the former Middlesbrough winger, curled the dead ball on target, but straight at Hilario, who wasn't distracted by the bounce in front of him.

At the other end Cole cut inside Pablo Zabaleta to work Shay Given, the City goalkeeper opting to punch clear rather than try to hold the powerful effort.

The Irishman should have been tested on 24 minutes but Drogba headed high, and somewhat tamely, from Branislav Ivanovic's right-wing cross. Anelka did hit the target, courtesy of a deflection off Nigel de Jong, shortly afterwards.

The game was brought to a standstill shortly after the half-hour, as a clash of heads between Drogba and Zabaleta left the Argentine needing prolonged medical attention, though fortunately he was okay to continue.

There was little doubting Chelsea's advantage, both in possession and territorially, yet Given, one of the Premier League's better goalkeepers, was still not being given the workout required. When Lampard mishit a shot from the edge of the area it fell to Drogba 10 yards out, and although it was on his weaker side, the Ivorian would have expected to score. Instead he fired over into the Shed End.

Lampard wasn't having his best day inside the City area, but his luck was shortly to change. Moments after inadvertently blocking Anelka's goalbound shot, he gave Chelsea the lead.

Joe Cole broke from midfield and ran at the City defence, slipping a ball into his England team-mate's path, and untracked, Lampard slotted past Given and in off the far post.

The lead was not to last though, as the dogged Tevez levelled in injury time, profiting from hesitation and misjudgement, the Chelsea centre-back pairing that had momentarily replaced the usually reliable Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

Racing on to a Bridge clearance which Mikel could only head on, the diminutive forward wriggled between the two defenders and squeezed a shot past the off-balance Hilario to level what had been a drab affair until five minutes earlier.

In the fourth minute of injury time Joleon Lescott had a golden opportunity to put City in front, but his header lacked direction and fell harmlessly wide.

It was City who had the first chance of the second half also, Terry being booked for a foul on Johnson, and Bridge slamming the free-kick into the wall with 49 minutes played.

Just over a minute later they were in front, Chelsea the victims of a superb and rapid counter-attack. Gareth Barry emerged from his own box with the ball and lifted the ball into Bellamy's path on the left. The Welshman ran straight at goal, going by John Mikel Obi all too easily and beating Hilario from a tight angle.

Carlo Ancelotti looked to have stern words with Ivanovic after the goal, perhaps upset with the way the Serb had lost possession so far up the field, and then the goal coming down his side.

Drogba set about his one-man mission to equalise immediately, first running into Lescott, and then seeing his free-kick deflected narrowly wide.

Just before the 60-minute mark, both sides made a change, Chelsea introducing City old boy Daniel Sturridge and Belletti for Mikel and Cole, City bringing on ex-Chelsea man Wright-Phillips in place of Johnson.

Ancelotti's decision to replace Cole was met with frustration by the player himself and supporters, it looked strange on the face of it to replace a player producing some of his best form of recent months.

Bellamy could have had a second as he bore down on goal again, though this time Ivanovic was properly position and intervened expertly.

On the front foot Anelka and Drogba both forced saves from Given, before Ancelotti rolled his final dice, bringing on Salomon Kalou for Ricardo Carvalho.

It looked not to have worked, as seven minutes later we were reduced to 10 men with the deficit doubled. Belletti, playing at right-back now, was outpaced by Bellamy and brought the forward down before he could shoot.

Referee Mike Dean had no alternative but to show the red card, and Tevez made no mistake from the penalty spot, firing hard and low to Hilario's right.

Things were to get worse as Ballack saw a second yellow card after a lunge on Tevez, the first having come for dissent 15 minutes earlier.

With nine men, surely all hope of salvaging a point looked to have gone. Anelka almost brought a goal back with seven minutes left but was superbly denied by Given, who saved low at the forward's feet.

Our misery was compounded four minutes from time as another City breakaway took advantage of our makeshift backline, Wright-Phillips squaring for Bellamy to tap into an empty net and earn City's first win at Stamford Bridge since the first Premier League season back in 1992/93.

In stoppage time Anelka earned a penalty after being fouled by Barry, and Lampard slotted it away to make the scoreline look more respectable, but still, a very disappointing day for the Blues.

Chelsea(4-3-2-1):Hilario; Ivanovic, Carvalho (Kalou 69), Terry (c), Malouda; Ballack, Mikel (Belletti 59), Lampard; Anelka, J Cole (Sturridge 59); Drogba
Scorers Lampard 41, 90 (pen)
Booked Terry 47, Ivanovic 57, Ballack 67
Sent off Belletti 74, Ballack 80

Manchester City (4-3-3): Given (c); Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Bridge (Santa Cruz 77); Zabaleta, De Jong, Barry; A Johnson (Wright-Phillips 59), Tevez (Sylvinho 89), Bellamy.
Scorers Tevez 45, 75 (pen) Bellamy 50, 86
Booked Zabaleta 48

See the full 90 minutes from 6pm Sunday on Chelsea TV.