Chelsea finished yet another season unbeaten at Stamford Bridge but we were held by Bolton to a 1-1 draw.
The league was lost anyway, despite conceding an equaliser in stoppage time, as Manchester United had beaten Wigan 2-0. A strike from substitute Andriy Shevchenko in the second half had given hope, but by then the eventual champions were already one goal to the good.
An eventful game under bright sunshine at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea lose our captain within 10 minutes of the start, carried of with an arm injury. However Terry was back, giving hope he may make Moscow by joining the lap of appreciation at the end and giving a short speech to the crowd, announcing there were no broken bones.
Avram Grant made several changes to the side which beat the Magpies 2-0 last Monday.
Michael Essien moved back into defence while Alex was once again alongside John Terry as the Players' Player of the Year, Ricardo Carvalho, recovered from a back injury. Ashley Cole also replaced Wayne Bridge.
Claude Makelele took up his role in central midfield to make his 200th appearance for the Blues and Joe Cole was back in the starting line-up replacing Nicolas Anelka, who was forced to sit out the fixture due to transfer regulations.
Bolton fronted a 4-3-3 formation in hope of adding to the 2-2 draw they achieved at the Bridge last season. El Hadji Diouf joined Kevin Davies and Matthew Taylor in attack as Gary Megson looked for a Bolton win.
Despite a lack of balls to blue feet inside the Bolton box, Chelsea controlled the opening to the game with quick, two-touch passing that culminated in two chances for Didier Drogba, both of which careered off target by a matter of inches - but proved Chelsea's intent for the game.
But trouble brewed before the 10-minute mark passed as a bright orange-kitted Petr Cech leapt high to catch a Bolton ball into the box and trapped Terry's arm between his leg and an oncoming Davies.
The medical staff sprinted onto the pitch as the captain banged his feet against the grass in obvious pain and was carried off minutes later to a standing ovation from both Bolton and Blues fans.
Essien then moved into a central role while Juliano Belletti came on for the right-back position.
The loss of our captain did not faze Chelsea though and within 10 minutes Joe Cole, Malouda, Makelele and Drogba had all been involved in attacks, while Cech, who had only been tested once with a haphazard Bolton move, remained calm between his posts.
Joe Cole was proving a tricky opponent for Bolton as he sent a through ball into the box, allowing Malouda and Drogba to force Ali al Habsi to crouch low and stop the impeding Ivorian.
The number 10 was testing Al Habsi again only minutes later when he sent a cross towards the far post only for the Bolton keeper to leap high and prevent Ballack from heading on-target.
It wasn't long before Joe Cole went for goal himself as he sent a shot low towards the left corner, but Al Habsi was alert to his advances and once again denied the Blues an opener.
Then Gavin McCann, whose eagerness had been causing trouble throughout the game, particularly for Ballack, cut Ashley Cole to the ground 25 yards out from goal. Lampard stepped up and sent the free-kick bouncing off the wall as he went for goal.
As the fourth official announced three minutes of stoppage time, Chelsea turned up the heat, with Ballack and Essien both finding themselves only inches from putting the ball into the net.
An Alex chance came from a free-kick after Kevin Davies received a yellow card for fouling Malouda. But as the first half ended, the score remained goalless.
Grant made one change to the side as the second half commenced, with Andriy Shevchenko coming on to replace Makelele and the Blues going two up front.
Chelsea began the second half right where they had left off as Malouda sent a lob dipping towards the net from 30 yards out, tipped onto the bar, before Belletti smashed a shot goal-ward from inside the box. Both times a busy Al Habsi acrobatically saved to keep Bolton level.
As the hour mark approached, McCann continued to frustrate the Blues as he slid to block a Lampard scorcher destined for goal, before Drogba broke down the centre and curled a shot inches over the bar.
It was the Player of the Year who helped create Chelsea's goal when Joe Cole sent a shot screaming across the box. It was blocked, fell to Lampard, who tried his own luck..
Shevchenko managed to latch his foot onto the attempt, which seemed to be spinning wide, to finally find the net for Chelsea in the 62nd minute.
The game was now on and Chelsea were hungry for a second. As Gary Megson brought Stelios on for Diouf, Grant prepared for further attacking changes as Salomon Kalou and John Mikel Obi warmed up on the sidelines.
It was no surprise that Joe Cole was closest to netting our second as he smashed a shot Al Habsi's way from 25 yards, but it was straight at the keeper.
That would be the number 10's last shot of the game as Grant changed him for John Mikel Obi with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
It then fell to the bar and Ashley Cole to preserve the lead when Taylor headed Cech's punch-out back over the keeper. Bouncing off the woodwork onto Stelios, it was cleared off the line by a perfectly-placed Cole.
McCann continued to cause upset as he knocked Drogba to the ground without a ball in sight, the Ivorian subsequently voiced his opinions with a sliding tackle on the Bolton defender, for which he received a yellow card.
Chelsea's failure to find a second would prove costly after Bolton scored an equaliser with just seconds to go.
Taylor fired in off Cech's legs after Alex had failed to clear a corner sufficiently. There was still time from the restart for a break into the box that saw Shevchenko hit the side netting, but the game finished 1-1, although the final score was not a true portrayal of the game.
By Christian Collison
Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Essien, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole; Ballack, Makelele (Shevchenko 45), Lampard; J Cole (Mikel 78), Drogba, Malouda.
Scorers Shevchenko
Booked Drogba
Bolton (4-3-3) Al Habsi; Steinsson, A O'Brien, Cahill; McCann, Nolan (c), J O'Brien; Diouf (Stelios 68), Davies, Taylor.
Scorers Taylor
Booked J O'Brien, McCann, Davies.
