QPR 0-0 Chelsea: Honours even as Terry suffers handshake snub

Chelsea skipper John Terry suffered the embarrassment of being snubbed by QPR pair Anton Ferdinand and captain Park Ji Sung in the pre-match handshakes before this heated west London derby.

Although no official comment was made by the club for the reason behind the refusal, one can assume it has its roots in the racism row between Ferdinand and Terry that ended up in court in July.

Terry was found not guilty there but still faces an FA charge over the allegations.

On the handshake decision QPR boss Mark Hughes said: "The players had a discussion and I was made aware that some of them were prepared to shake and some weren't. It was a personal choice of each of them."

After all the pre-match controversy, Terry was involved almost instantly, flicking a header across the QPR six-yard box inside the first minute.

Eden Hazard minutes later fluffed what turned out to be Chelsea's best moment of the match. He was played in by a swift Ramires charge down the left, but could only sting the palms of QPR's new goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who was described as "one of the best keepers in the world," by Hughes.

The Brazilian's athleticism and authority were very apparent during his debut. The man he replaced, Rob Green, could only watch on in awe from the bench.

Hazard and then Terry had legitimate claims for a Chelsea penalty, but found referee Andre Marriner in a strict mood. By this point the noise was reaching optimum levels and Bobby Zamora responded to his supporters' urgings by firing Rangers' first shot in anger midway through the half.

Fernando Torres called Cesar into action again minutes later with a smart swivel and shot - and that was Torres's last contribution as he was subsequently marked out of the game.

Rangers stepped it up in the second period as midfield pairing Alejandro Faurlin and Esteben Granero took control.

The latter's floated ball into the area on 55 minutes should have been buried by Park. Hazard could have made wasteful Rangers pay late on. The Belgian connected well with substitute Victor Moses's cut-back, but found the upper tier of the Loftus Road End rather than the net.

"We created a number of chances and it was just the goal that was missing," said Chelsea boss Roberto di Matteo.