QPR wins at Chelsea in topflight after 34 years

Compounding Chelsea's misery, it was former winger Shaun Wright-Phillips whose goal in the 78th minute halted a four-match winning streak by clinching QPR's 1-0 west London derby win.

"We were tired and weren't precise," Benitez said. "We made a mistake and gave them their chance."

And Chelsea missed a chance to rise from fourth place where it is 14 points behind leader Manchester United with a game in hand.

Given that QPR had capitulated to Liverpool in a 3-0 loss on Sunday, Benitez felt confident enough to start key players, including Eden Hazard and Juan Mata, on the bench.

And despite then losing to the league's worst team, Benitez defended his tinkering.

"I don't regret the changes because we can't carry on with the same players in every game," said Benitez, whose appointment in November was unpopular with many fans. "If you're playing a team at the bottom of the table at home, you have to trust your players."

Yet, the Chelsea players will go down as the first to lose to QPR in the league at home since April 1983 when they were playing in the second tier.

Not since March 1979 had Chelsea lost a west London derby in the top division, and QPR's memorable victory could spur its bid for Premier League survival.

Harry Redknapp's side is still in a perilous position at the bottom but is now only behind Reading on goal difference and five points from safety.

"I can't remember many better wins than this one, with Chelsea flying at the moment," Redknapp said.

Not only was this QPR's first away win of the season but also the team's first on the road since November 2011 — when Neil Warnock was in charge, two managerial appointments ago.

"They've set the standard what they've got to do if we are going to get out of this mess," Redknapp said.

It could have been a more comfortable night for QPR had Chelsea been reduced to 10 men in the fourth minute.

Midfielder Marko Marin, who started for Chelsea despite barely 20 minutes of topflight experience in England, was fortunate to receive just a yellow card when he launched a studs-up challenge over the ball and into Stephane Mbia's shin.