Steven Davis's spectacular volley has cancelled out Willian's free kick as Chelsea and Southampton go into half time at Stamford Bridge level at 1-1.
Jose Mourinho restored John Terry to his starting lineup for the first time since September 12 and elected to start with Falcao in attack as Diego Costa completed his three-match domestic ban.
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu picked up an early yellow card against his former side for a foul on Eden Hazard, and the hosts took immediate advantage to open the scoring as Willian curled home his fourth goal from a free kick in as many games from a tight angle.
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Davis missed a chance to equalise for Ronald Koeman's side after he was given a sight of goal but could only fire into the side-netting, before Oscar fired over as both sides looked for the second goal of the game.
Maarten Stekelenburg comfortably saved Oscar's next attempt as the two teams struggled to create any clear opportunities, although Sadio Mane was perhaps unlucky to be booked for simulation after he went down under the challenge of Ramires in the Chelsea penalty area.
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Southampton began to dominate the lacklustre home side in the final 10 minutes of the half and could have levelled when ex-Blue Ryan Bertrand failed to beat Begovic when one-on-one.
That was a let-off for Chelsea, but it was a warning sign that they failed to heed as a minute later Davis equalised in spectacular fashion, Graziano Pelle chesting the ball to the Northern Irishman, who crashed a first-time volley past Begovic from outside the box to restore parity before the whistle.
Tom Nightingale
