It had to happen eventually, and at 3.11pm on a humid afternoon in south-east London, the gods finally relented.
After 731 minutes, spread over 152 days, Crystal Palace scored in the Premier League.
Insert your own hackneyed phrase about the finest traditions of London buses here, but what happened next was as inevitable as it was merited.
Three points, two goals, Palace’s season is up and running at last.
And Roy Hodgson has banked his first Premier League win since the Football Association invited him to forsake West Bromwich Albion in 2012.
As for Chelsea, summary bluntness will suffice. They did not play like champions, and that sky-blue haze disappearing over the horizon is Manchester City.
The title will not be coming back to Stamford Bridge this season if they are going to be negligent at one end of the pitch and lacking ruthlessness at the other.
