Heurelho's howler
No 1: Gomes pushes Drogba's shot up in the air, but it spins back
into the goal
Carlo Ancelotti said
there comes a moment when you either have to 'die or improve' and
for Chelsea
here on Sunday it arrived
in the 15th minute. That was when Roman Pavlyuchenko punished them
for a moment's loss of concentration with one brilliant touch and a
super finish.
Chelsea's season could have gone
one of two ways then. Ancelotti had spoken of 'destiny' when
looking ahead to this absorbing game and the two that follow, at
home to Manchester United
and at Arsenal, and defeat here might have sent his side down
a certain path.
But, after the club's worst run
in the Barclays Premier League in more than 10 years, a run in
which they had taken five points from six games, they finally
responded in the manner we have come to expect from the English
champions.
This was much better from
Chelsea and in the end they were left to reflect on an opportunity
squandered to win the match.
Didier Drogba had the chance in
second-half stoppage time after Heurelho Gomes flattened Ramires
and left Mike Dean with no option but to point to the penalty spot.
Gomes took half a step to the right and so invited Drogba to opt
for the other side, only to then dive in that direction and
save.
Ancelotti nevertheless chose to
focus on the positives. His side, he suggested, would leave White
Hart Lane with much of their confidence restored.
Heurelho howler No 2: Gomes bundles over Ramires to
gift Chelsea a penalty in injury time
'I think the bad spell is behind
us,' said Chelsea's manager,
having already heard John Terry declare that the real Chelsea had
returned. The good news for them was that Frank Lampard had
returned, too. In fact, it was only with regard to Drogba that
Ancelotti still appeared to have a problem. It was a bold move to
start him on the bench, and one that seemed to anger the Ivorian
striker even if his form has been poor.
When Ancelotti asked him to
start warming up at the end of the first half, he threw something
of a tantrum. If he did not seem terribly happy with his manager,
he did not appear too enamoured with Chelsea's travelling
supporters either. Some fans had turned on him when he urged them
to get behind the team during the 1-1 draw against Everton and he
followed his slightly fortuitous 70th-minute equaliser by strutting
past them here with a bit of eyeballing.
Who knows how he might have
reacted had he then scored the winner? Not that Chelsea deserved to
take all three points, not when a Tottenham side who continue to
impress under Harry Redknapp proved themselves worthy contenders in
this most intriguing of title races.
This was a fierce, full throttle
contest; a breathless, relentless battle between two attacking
teams who demanded the best of their more defensive
opponents.
While Terry probably edged it
for the man-of-the-match award with an inspirational performance,
Michael Dawson ran him close with a display that was all the more
impressive for the fact that it was his first start since
September.
The rest of Tottenham's back
four were superb also, while Wilson Palacios had one of his better
games for Spurs alongside the marvellous Luka Modric . They put
Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi under pressure before Ancelotti
sent on Drogba for Mikel and switched to a 4-4-2 formation that
matched the home team's.
Attacking on the flanks through Aaron Lennon and Gareth
Bale was an approach that worked well for Redknapp's side and they
were good value for the advantage they established.
It was created by a terrific ball from Jermain Defoe to
Pavlyuchenko, aided by the fact that Branislav Ivanovic had been
lured out wide and completed when the Russia striker used one touch
to take the ball away from Terry before unleashing a left-foot shot
that Petr Cech perhaps should have saved.
Chelsea were enjoying plenty of the ball but lacked
penetration without Drogba and Lampard. They had to wait until the
70th minute for the breakthrough after Drogba had been
introduced.
Show us your trophies: Terry goads the home fans and
spits in their direction (right)
He took advantage of Dean's failure to spot his
use of an arm to control Cech's long ball and a major blunder by
Gomes, who got both hands to the shot Drogba unleashed after seeing
off the challenge of Dawson, yet allowed the ball to spin off his
gloves, over his head and bounce across the line. What was
Ancelotti saying about the lucky break not coming from
'heaven'?
The problems would continue for Gomes, the penalty he then
conceded adding to his embarrassment. But he made amends in some
style, producing the save that reminded Redknapp why he now regards
him as one of the finest goalkeepers in the league.
Should Lampard have taken it? Because of a lack of match
practice, Ancelotti said no. But it would have been quite a story
had Lampard marked his return with a goal that would have ended a
run that now stands at one win in seven.
In the hot seat: Ancelotti (black coat) looks
concerned as his team try to come from behind
It might have even dissuaded Terry from clashing with the
same Tottenham fans who had so abused him. If nothing else it
proved that, in Chelsea, there is still plenty of fight.
