Tottenham 1 Chelsea 1:TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR will spend Christmas as London's highest ranked team, though even with a point secured, this rather hinted at a reality check.
Chelsea were supposed to arrive here vulnerable and distracted by the furore over John Terry’s alleged racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand. In the end it was Andre Villas-Boas’s side, with their captain growing into the contest in defiance of a din of abuse, who arguably emerged the stronger.
A point may not be enough in the long term for Chelsea to retain interest in the title race. After all, they now trail Manchester City by 11 points, cursing a late miss from Ramires in front of goal. Yet they will take heart at the resilience demonstrated last night.
The balance of power in the capital has not tipped decidedly just yet. This fixture had felt incendiary enough long before confirmation was delivered by the Crown Prosecution Service that Terry would face charges in February, an announcement made the day before the game. The build-up had been utterly overshadowed by the issue, a legacy from another furious London derby back in late October. The abuse that poured down from the stands here was predictable even with stewards in the arena wearing headcams to scrutinise fans’ conduct.
The tension was clear in Terry’s early touches and his team’s sloppy start, and it was to Chelsea’s credit that they had recovered their poise, and a deficit, by the interval in a contest that had thrilled from its opening exchanges.
That the visitors would retire at the break level had felt distinctly unlikely while Gareth Bale tore into their right flank with such relish. The Welshman had been rated “extremely doubtful” by Harry Redknapp the day before, his availability apparently wrecked by an ankle injury, although that felt like a deception as Jose Bosingwa and Branislav Ivanovic gasped in his early vapour trail.
The Serb did not see out the half, limping livid from the fray to be replaced by Paulo Ferreira.
Mikel John Obi followed suit by the break. Bale merely tucked into all-comers with equal delight.
For a period, Spurs seemed irrepressible. Bale had already veered across the penalty area, opponents wilting in his presence, before seeing a shot at goal blocked.
Chelsea were still breached by the eighth minute, Sandro Raniere claiming possession from Daniel Sturridge with the ball squirting out to Bale on the flank. Bosingwa was powerless to haul the winger in, with the Wales international’s cross beautifully angled as it fizzed across the six-yard box beyond Terry for Adebayor to tap in ahead of a tentative Petr Cech.
Yet, once behind, Chelsea appeared to recover some resolve. They drew encouragement from Juan Mata’s shot from distance, parried by Brad Friedel with Sturridge blazing the rebound wastefully over the bar. The opportunity shrugged them awake, with Spurs’ previous dominance suddenly challenged.
There was a sense of inevitability that Sturridge would make amends, the England forward converting a ninth league goal of the campaign by tapping in Ashley Cole’s cross.
The home players were in uproar that the full back had been waved on after the ball cannoned up kindly on to his arm from Rafael van der Vaart’s attempted tackle.
The sense of injustice seemed to thrust Tottenham further into their shells. Chelsea threatened to capitalise on the lull when Didier Drogba drifted off Kyle Walker to collect Bosingwa’s crossfield pass on his chest and thud a half-volley on to the angle of post and bar.
The clearer chances had been the visitors’, for all the home side’s early surge. Redknapp clearly felt momentum had drained, even if the introduction of Roman Pavlyuchenko at the interval was a result of Van der Vaart suffering from a hamstring injury.
This felt like a proper test of Spurs’ credentials as challengers for a top three place, an examination as to whether their startling run since losses to both Manchester clubs in their opening two fixtures – back in the autumn when uncertainty had still surrounded the future of Luka Modric – was an accurate reflection of real progress. Brad Friedel’s smart save from a marauding Ramires, fed by another Drogba pass, was a reflection of the pressure they were under even if there was frustration to endure when Adebayor’s conversion moments later was denied by a linesman’s flag, despite Cole and then Terry playing the striker onside.
Yet that opportunity had rather been prised from the visitors’ pressure, the confusion that erupted too often for comfort at the heart of Tottenham’s defence always offering the slippery Juan Mata or darting Sturridge cause for hope. The doubling up of Ferreira and Bosingwa had also forced Bale to drift in search of space to exploit, his effectiveness limited as a result. But the closest Tottenham came to snatching a second was when Terry, covering behind his goalkeeper, cleared off the line from Adebayor in stoppage time.
TOTTENHAM: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, King, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Parker, Sandro, Bale, Adebayor, Van der Vaart (Pavlyuchenko 46). Subs Not Used: Gomes, Kaboul, Bassong, Kranjcar, Rose, Livermore. Booked: Adebayor, Bale.
CHELSEA: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic (Ferreira 34), Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel (Romeu 45), Meireles, Sturridge, Drogba (Torres 77), Mata. Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou. Booked: Ivanovic, Ramires.
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).
