Tottenham 1 Chelsea 1
Chelsea secured a point against their London rivals thanks to Daniel Sturridge’s equaliser and John Terry’s late heroics.
Emmanuel Adebayor netted the opener from Gareth Bale’s cross before Ashley Cole crossed for Sturridge to score his 10th goal of the season.
Adebayor would have won it for Tottenham near the end had Terry not produced a fine saving block to deny him after the striker had latched onto Bale’s pass and beaten keeper Petr Cech.
Terry was, predictably, given a hostile reception by the home fans following the Crown Prosecution Service’s announcement that he will be charged with public order offence following allegations he racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand during October’s west London derby.
And the noise inside White Hart Lane was turned up another notch when Adebayor gave Spurs the lead after only eight minutes.
The poor defending that has plagued Chelsea under manager Andre Villas-Boas was evident yet again, with Bale catching them out and Adebayor able to score from close range after being set up by the Welshman.
But Spurs, while well on top, were then guilty of a defensive lapse of their own which Sturridge punished by capitalising on Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s hesitation to meet Cole’s delivery and haul Chelsea level.
The goal galvanised Villas-Boas’ men, who then went close to going ahead when Didier Drogba controlled the ball on his chest and fired against the post from 10 yards out.
Chelsea were forced to make two changes before the break, with first Branislav Ivanovic and then Jon Mikel Obi going off injured and being replaced by Paulo Ferreira and Oriol Romeu respectively.
But the visitors continued to trouble Spurs early in the second half and keeper Brad Friedel did well to thwart Ramires after the Brazilian had been put through by Drogba.
Spurs had the ball in the net via Adebayor’s shoulder but the effort was ruled out, and they should have regained the lead when an unmarked Sandro headed wide.
Juan Mata went close at the other end, and Spurs missed another good chance when Bale’s corner found William Gallas, who failed to hit the target.
Ramires had an even better opportunity but headed tamely wide, and Romeu was then inches away with a 30-yard drive before Terry’s injury-time block denied Spurs a dramatic victory.
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This post was last modified on 26/12/2011