Chelsea now face a huge task at Old Trafford to rescue the tie and keep their main hope of silverware alive this season, as well as easing pressure on Ancelotti.
Nine months after an election in Hesse had produced a tie between the two main parties, the state legislature was due to replace Roland Koch, boss of the local Christian Democratic Union (CDU), as premier and to install Andrea Ypsilanti, leader of the state's Social Democrats (SPD), in his place.