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Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Chelsea: Spurs grab Champions League pole spot to dent Chelsea title hopes
Published Date:
18 April 2010
JERMAIN
Defoe and Gareth Bale blew the Barclays Premier League title race open
with goals against Chelsea – and also put Tottenham back in the
Champions League places.
Defoe
tucked away from the penalty spot for his 24th of the season after John
Terry handled in the area, then Bale followed up his midweek goal
against Arsenal with another before the break.
Terry's miserable evening, after being involved in a ve
rbal spat with a supporter at half-time, was capped off with a sending off for two bookings.
Frank Lampard pulled one back, but it was too late for Chelsea.
United's victory in the Manchester derby cut into Chelsea's lead and also favoured Spurs in their hunt for fourth place as they knew a victory would take them back above City – and within a quarter of an hour they were ahead.
Roman Pavlyuchenko fired over from the edge of the area and also had an effort blocked by Alex – but Harry Redknapp's men were not made to wait long for their opener.
They were denied penalties when Defoe appeared to get his shirt pulled by Terry and when Bale went over John Mikel Obi's challenge, then Phil Dowd pointed to the spot after the third appeal. Pavlyuchenko stepped over Bale's cross and Terry leant in with his arm, enough for Dowd to award a penalty.
Defoe stepped up and sent Petr Cech the wrong way.
It got worse for Chelsea as Mikel picked up an injury and was replaced by Michael Ballack in the 34th minute.
Bale doubled the lead just before the break when he cut inside Paulo Ferreira and beat Cech at the near post.
Lampard almost pulled one back immediately, but Heurelho Gomes pulled off a save at full stretch.
There was drama at half-time, starting with Terry's spat with a fan.
Ancelotti's response was to use his remaining substitutes at the break, with Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic coming on for Joe Cole and Ferreira, but Didier Drogba then pulled up injured just before the restart. With all of Chelsea's substitutes used, Drogba had to hobble back on.
Defoe had a chance to extend the lead in the 50th minute when Pavlyuchenko played him through, but Cech was down to save the one-on-one opportunity.
The feisty atmosphere went up a notch when Lampard and Tom Huddlestone clashed, leading to the Spurs player getting booked and Deco being cautioned for his role in the aftermath.
Terry was also cautioned for bringing down Pavlyuchenko when the Russian was running at goal. He got his marching orders 23 minutes from time, with his second foul on Bale.
Bentley almost added another but his cheeky lob was tipped over by Cech and there was also time for Gomes to deny Drogba from close range and for Lampard to pull one back in stoppage time.
Terry's miserable evening, after being involved in a ve
Frank Lampard pulled one back, but it was too late for Chelsea.
United's victory in the Manchester derby cut into Chelsea's lead and also favoured Spurs in their hunt for fourth place as they knew a victory would take them back above City – and within a quarter of an hour they were ahead.
Roman Pavlyuchenko fired over from the edge of the area and also had an effort blocked by Alex – but Harry Redknapp's men were not made to wait long for their opener.
They were denied penalties when Defoe appeared to get his shirt pulled by Terry and when Bale went over John Mikel Obi's challenge, then Phil Dowd pointed to the spot after the third appeal. Pavlyuchenko stepped over Bale's cross and Terry leant in with his arm, enough for Dowd to award a penalty.
Defoe stepped up and sent Petr Cech the wrong way.
It got worse for Chelsea as Mikel picked up an injury and was replaced by Michael Ballack in the 34th minute.
Bale doubled the lead just before the break when he cut inside Paulo Ferreira and beat Cech at the near post.
Lampard almost pulled one back immediately, but Heurelho Gomes pulled off a save at full stretch.
There was drama at half-time, starting with Terry's spat with a fan.
Ancelotti's response was to use his remaining substitutes at the break, with Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic coming on for Joe Cole and Ferreira, but Didier Drogba then pulled up injured just before the restart. With all of Chelsea's substitutes used, Drogba had to hobble back on.
Defoe had a chance to extend the lead in the 50th minute when Pavlyuchenko played him through, but Cech was down to save the one-on-one opportunity.
The feisty atmosphere went up a notch when Lampard and Tom Huddlestone clashed, leading to the Spurs player getting booked and Deco being cautioned for his role in the aftermath.
Terry was also cautioned for bringing down Pavlyuchenko when the Russian was running at goal. He got his marching orders 23 minutes from time, with his second foul on Bale.
Bentley almost added another but his cheeky lob was tipped over by Cech and there was also time for Gomes to deny Drogba from close range and for Lampard to pull one back in stoppage time.
