EPL update: Tottenham Hotspur hold Chelsea 1-1 (Part II)
To read Part 1 of this article, click http://www.senore.com/EPL-update-Tottenham-Hotspur-hold-Chelsea-1-1-Part-I-a47851.
Ancelotti looked for inspiration as he brought on Didier Drogba at half-time in place of Jon Mikel Obi. The Ivorian was displeased at being left on the bench, but had 45 minutes to prove his worth. Chelsea lined 4-4-2 with Drogba
and Anelka leading the fight-back.
It was Tottenham who ventured forward first, as Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric combined to setup Jermain Defoe, whose swinging shot from the edge of the box flew to the wrong side of the post.
Didier Drogba was not having the best of times since coming on. He got a whack in the face almost immediately, and had been caught offside from a hoisted John Terry pass.
Branislav Ivanovic headed clear after Gareth Bale nodded an Aaron Lennon cross back into the danger area. The ball dropped for Luka Modric outside the box but he failed to make a clean connection and it bobbled wide.
It was Chelsea who were enjoying most of the possession but they could not open their account. Didier Drogba tried his luck from a distance but it was easy for Heurelho Gomes to push round the post.
Heurelho Gomes was alert, as he reacted brilliantly to Wilson Palacios's attempted clearance. Palacios made a complete mess of his clearance, as the ball rocketed towards the goal under the bar, until Gomes tipped it beyond the
post.
Chelsea were all over Tottenham in the second half, and were beginning to look like the old Chelsea as the Spurs could not touch the ball for long periods. Peter Crouch came on for Jermain Defoe to change things.
A rare Spurs attack saw Gareth Bale pick the ball up and bombard forward from the half-way line, cutting in from the right. That meant that he could let fly with his trusty left foot, but his shot was a disappointing one - he didn't
get hold of that at all.
Finally Chelsea’s pressure bore fruit as Michael Dawson was hustled out of things too easily as he challenged Didier Drogba for a long ball; the Chelsea striker was fastest to the loose ball, but Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes was
the culprit. Drogba smashed his shot straight at him, and the keeper got both hands to it, but his weak wrists allowed the ball to flop over his head and bounce over the line. A soft goal all round, but Chelsea didn’t care because they were now level.
Heurelho Gomes did not have time to contemplate on his mistake as he was again called into action: this time he had to dive to his right to keep out Nicolas Anelka's low drive. He held the shot together otherwise Didier Drogba
was there to pounce on any lapse.
The moment Chelsea fans were waiting for: Frank Lampard was back, after more than three months out injured. He was on for Florent Malouda. All the momentum was with Chelsea.
Drama at White Hart Lane as Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes clumsily conceded an injury time spot-kick after bundling over Ramires in the box as he tried to collect Didier Drogba's flick, but he redeemed himself when he dived to
his left to keep out Drogba's subsequent penalty. That wasn't the greatest spot-kick in the world, but boy, what a time to make a save like that.
Had Didier Drogba scored from the spot, Chelsea would surely have won, and returned to the top of the Premier League, but he didn't and they don't. Instead, they stay fourth and have now won just one of their last seven league
games. Who do they play next? Manchester United and then Arsenal. Good luck Carlo!
Final Score: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Chelsea FC 1
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