Sunday Times
Tottenham halt ten-man Chelsea march to title with devastating defeat
Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1
Paul Rowan at White Hart Lane
Paul Rowan at White Hart Lane
THOSE who were predicting a stroll to the title for Chelsea — some bookies even had Manchester United at 6-1 last week to retain their crown — were shown to be foolishly premature in their assumptions when Carlo Ancelotti’s side failed a big test at White Hart Lane last night in a manner that seriously questions their ability to close out the deal over the next three games.
Chelsea not only lost the battle and the game but, most worryingly, also lost their heads as their increasingly brittle captain, John Terry, was sent off halfway through the second half after two stupid tackles in the space of four minutes, just when his leadership was needed to get his side back into the game. Fabio Capello, watching in the stands, will be deeply concerned at the form of the England centre-half, who has been erratic at best since he was caught in a scandal over his private life and has now been sent off four times in the Premier League.
Spurs, meanwhile, were celebrating their second victory over a top-three side in four days and savouring once again the prospect of Champions League football after first-half goals from Jermain Defoe and the excellent Gareth Bale gave them a fully deserved victory.
While Chelsea eventually splintered, Spurs in this mood look irresistible, as Arsenal found out in midweek, with Bale delivering again on his outstanding promise, Roman Pavlyuchenko scaring defences every time he touches the ball and Michael Dawson imperious at the back. Manchester United are next up for Tottenham, though Chelsea will be hoping rather than expecting that their London rivals can take this form to Old Trafford.
“We played soft,” Ancelotti conceded. “When we lost Terry it became impossible to recover with 10 against 11. He tried to do his best but Terry is under pressure. Everybody is under pressure at this moment.We must not be afraid. We mustn’t panic. Every team would want to be in our place. ”
Spurs started where they left off in midweek against Arsenal and were ahead within 15 minutes. The pressure had been building steadily on referee Phil Dowd with a succession of close calls around the Chelsea penalty box. First Terry was lucky to escape being penalised when he clumsily tackled Defoe and then John Obi Mikel survived a big penalty shout arising out of what looked a fair tackle on Bale.
Moments later, David Bentley whipped in a cross from the left wing and Pavlyuchenko threw himself at the ball and may have made contact before it collided heavily with the right arm of Terry. It was a less obvious handball than the one Terry escaped with in midweek against Bolton but Dowd rather harshly awarded it and Defoe, who had missed two from the spot this season, blasted the penalty past Petr Cech.
Spurs were buzzing, with Luka Modric controlling matters in the centre and Bale a constant menace down the left. They might have gone further ahead on 25 minutes when Pavlyuchenko turned Terry all too easily but his shot from the edge of the box was spectacularly saved by Cech. Chelsea had began to claw their way back but they conceded the second just before half-time. Hugging the touchline by the half-way line, Bale played a give and go with Pavlyuchenko and, while Paulo Ferreira managed to keep up with the flying Welshman, he wasn’t able to respond when Bale turned inside him. From the left side of the penalty area Bale then launched a powerful shot low inside Cech’s near post.
As the Spurs fans celebrated, Gomes produced a brilliant save from a Frank Lampard volley on the stroke of half-time that was another huge boost to the home side. Drastic action was needed from Ancelotti and he introduced Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic at half-time, Michael Ballack having come on earlier for the injured Mikel. The Italian’s boldness appeared to backfire as Didier Drogba seemed to pull up with a strain before the second half had resumed, but he hobbled on with his customary painful grimace without ever being effective. Shortly after half- time, Cech pulled off a brilliant save from Defoe, who had been put through by Pavlyuchenko. Chelsea couldn’t handle the Russian except by hauling him down and Terry was booked for doing so on 63 minutes as the attacker closed in.
That was the cue for the former England captain to lose his head, only a week after he had been very lucky to stay on the pitch in the FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa. Spurs raided this time down the left with Bale played through by Defoe and Terry slid in with astonishing recklessness to earn a second yellow card. His previous dismissal was also when Dowd officiated, at Everton in December 2008.
Faced with a big decision about removing Terry from the captaincy, Capello now might have an even bigger one when deciding who will partner Rio Ferdinand. Lampard’s goal from close range in stoppage time added a gloss to the scoreline that merely flattered the aspirants to the title.
Chelsea not only lost the battle and the game but, most worryingly, also lost their heads as their increasingly brittle captain, John Terry, was sent off halfway through the second half after two stupid tackles in the space of four minutes, just when his leadership was needed to get his side back into the game. Fabio Capello, watching in the stands, will be deeply concerned at the form of the England centre-half, who has been erratic at best since he was caught in a scandal over his private life and has now been sent off four times in the Premier League.
Spurs, meanwhile, were celebrating their second victory over a top-three side in four days and savouring once again the prospect of Champions League football after first-half goals from Jermain Defoe and the excellent Gareth Bale gave them a fully deserved victory.
While Chelsea eventually splintered, Spurs in this mood look irresistible, as Arsenal found out in midweek, with Bale delivering again on his outstanding promise, Roman Pavlyuchenko scaring defences every time he touches the ball and Michael Dawson imperious at the back. Manchester United are next up for Tottenham, though Chelsea will be hoping rather than expecting that their London rivals can take this form to Old Trafford.
“We played soft,” Ancelotti conceded. “When we lost Terry it became impossible to recover with 10 against 11. He tried to do his best but Terry is under pressure. Everybody is under pressure at this moment.We must not be afraid. We mustn’t panic. Every team would want to be in our place. ”
Spurs started where they left off in midweek against Arsenal and were ahead within 15 minutes. The pressure had been building steadily on referee Phil Dowd with a succession of close calls around the Chelsea penalty box. First Terry was lucky to escape being penalised when he clumsily tackled Defoe and then John Obi Mikel survived a big penalty shout arising out of what looked a fair tackle on Bale.
Moments later, David Bentley whipped in a cross from the left wing and Pavlyuchenko threw himself at the ball and may have made contact before it collided heavily with the right arm of Terry. It was a less obvious handball than the one Terry escaped with in midweek against Bolton but Dowd rather harshly awarded it and Defoe, who had missed two from the spot this season, blasted the penalty past Petr Cech.
Spurs were buzzing, with Luka Modric controlling matters in the centre and Bale a constant menace down the left. They might have gone further ahead on 25 minutes when Pavlyuchenko turned Terry all too easily but his shot from the edge of the box was spectacularly saved by Cech. Chelsea had began to claw their way back but they conceded the second just before half-time. Hugging the touchline by the half-way line, Bale played a give and go with Pavlyuchenko and, while Paulo Ferreira managed to keep up with the flying Welshman, he wasn’t able to respond when Bale turned inside him. From the left side of the penalty area Bale then launched a powerful shot low inside Cech’s near post.
As the Spurs fans celebrated, Gomes produced a brilliant save from a Frank Lampard volley on the stroke of half-time that was another huge boost to the home side. Drastic action was needed from Ancelotti and he introduced Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic at half-time, Michael Ballack having come on earlier for the injured Mikel. The Italian’s boldness appeared to backfire as Didier Drogba seemed to pull up with a strain before the second half had resumed, but he hobbled on with his customary painful grimace without ever being effective. Shortly after half- time, Cech pulled off a brilliant save from Defoe, who had been put through by Pavlyuchenko. Chelsea couldn’t handle the Russian except by hauling him down and Terry was booked for doing so on 63 minutes as the attacker closed in.
That was the cue for the former England captain to lose his head, only a week after he had been very lucky to stay on the pitch in the FA Cup semifinal against Aston Villa. Spurs raided this time down the left with Bale played through by Defoe and Terry slid in with astonishing recklessness to earn a second yellow card. His previous dismissal was also when Dowd officiated, at Everton in December 2008.
Faced with a big decision about removing Terry from the captaincy, Capello now might have an even bigger one when deciding who will partner Rio Ferdinand. Lampard’s goal from close range in stoppage time added a gloss to the scoreline that merely flattered the aspirants to the title.
Star man: Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
Yellow cards: Tottenham: Huddlestone, Pavlyuchenko Chelsea: Terry, Alex, Deco, Zhirkov
Red card: Chelsea: Terry
Referee: P Dowd Attendance: 35,814
Tottenham: Gomes 8, Kaboul 7, Bassong 7, Dawson 8, Assou-Ekotto 7, Bentley 7, Huddlestone 6, Modric 7, Bale 8; Pavlyuchenko 8, Defoe 7
Chelsea: Cech 6, Ferreira 5 (Ivanovic ht, 6), Terry 3, Alex 6, Zhirkov 6; Mikel 5 (Ballack 33, 6); J Cole 4 (Anelka ht, 6), Deco 5, Lampard 6, Malouda 5, Drogba 4
----------------------------------------------
Telegraph:
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 1
By John Ley
Two down, one to go. Having beaten Arsenal in midweek, Tottenham threatened Chelsea’s advances on the Premier League crown with another remarkable performance. Back in Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson must have experienced mixed feelings; the joy of seeing Chelsea falter will be tempered by the knowledge that Manchester United’s next test is against North London’s prize scalp hunters.
This thoroughly deserved victory, earned by an early penalty from Jermain Defoe and a second goal in four days from Gareth Bale at the end of the first half, not only denied Chelsea the chance to re-open the gap to four points but, deliciously, opens the title race to a third party again. Arsenal, having thrown the towel in here on Wednesday, can move to within three points of leaders United with a win at Wigan on Sunday.
And for Chelsea this was a game in which anything that could go wrong did just that. Captain John Terry, who conceded the early penalty, was sent off in the 67th minute, for the second of two yellow cards and will miss the visit next Sunday, of Stoke.
While Chelsea and United are now separated by one point with nine to play for, Spurs are back into fourth – with a game in hand and with Champions League football looking more likely with each shock.
Indeed, there is a new confidence about Tottenham and, as the sun began to set in North London, so they proved that a new dawn is coming to the Lane. With the game still in its infancy Spurs pushed forward and after Roman Pavlyuchenko had a shot blocked, Defoe appeared to have his arm pulled by Terry just outside the area but referee Phil Dowd played on.
Dowd refused to be convinced that when Bale fell under John Obi Mikel’s challenge but had no doubts when, in the 15th minute, Terry handled Pavlyuchenko’s cross. For those who had witnessed Terry escape a similar penalty claim against Bolton in midweek, justice was seen to be done.
Spurs have had a problem from the penalty spot, with Defoe missibng six of his previous 10 attempts, yet he struck this one perfectly and Spurs were on course for another famous scalp.
Pavlyuchenko and David Bentley both went close as Chelsea became swamped in midfield and they were forced to make a change in the 33rd minute when Michael Ballack replaced the struggling Mikel. And it got worse for Chelsea five minutes later when they had a goal disallowed, though nobody could complain when both Florent Malouda, who slipped the ball under Heurelho Gomes, and Joe Cole were given offside.
And then came the 44th minute second goal and with it a signal to Manchester that the title race is definitely on again. Bale exchanged passes with Pavlyuchenko, stole forward, slipped inside Paulo Ferreira and found the bottom left corner with his right foot. Clearly Bale enjoys the top stage.
At half time Terry was the target for abuse from a Spurs fan as he entered the tunnel. The supporter was led away by security staff.
If the events of the first half were not remarkable enough, what happened at the start of the second half were quite amazing. Carlo Ancelotti gambled with a double substitution, Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira making way for Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic, but Didier Drogba pulled up in pain before the kick-off, ran to the bench and indicated that he had damaged his groin. Dowd refused to allow Chelsea to alter their substitution and Drogba reluctantly returned, albeit at half pace.
Chelsea’s frustration spilled over in the 53rd minute when Lampard’s challenge on Modric sparked a brief but ugly 18-man brawl, after which Tom Huddlestone and Deco were booked.
Terry was also cautioned, for a foul on Pavlyuchenko and, just minutes later, he slid into Bale and was shown a second yellow card and Chelsea were left to hang on as Spurs dominated the closing stages with Cech making vital saves to prevent a landslide.
Lampard’s added time goal, from Ballack’s cross, came too late for Chelsea.
----------------------------------------
NOTW:
JT SEES RED AND BLUES ARE LOOKING BALEFUL
Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1
By Andy Dunn
NO bare chest with armband straining around a proud bicep this time. No tossing mementoes into an adoring swell of support.
Just a painful walk from the man who has made a good few of those in his time.
As John Terry flicked the captaincy to Frank Lampard and strode off with a sense of injustice, Carlo Ancelotti clasped his hands together in that typically Italian prayer-like way.
Out of the clear blue heavens, a bolt had struck Chelsea, JT, Ancelotti and their procession to the title.
They might recover from this. They might not miss Terry too much when Stoke arrive next Sunday. Ancelotti might even recover his composure after a tumultuous evening.
But whether or not Chelsea regain their nerve is another matter.
This was not only a setback in the table - this was a psychological hammer blow.
Chelsea were overwhelmed.
Forget the fraught flurry after Lampard had pilfered an injury-time goal, this was a thumping triumph.
As they slumped away from White Hart Lane, there was only one tangible consolation... their goal difference had escaped a pummeling.
No excuses, no match for Spurs in physique or talent and, after Phil Dowd's two yellow cards, no skipper.
And, perhaps more significantly, no discipline.
Under the increasingly bemused gaze of one of football's calmest coaches, Ancelotti's Chelsea lost it.
It's hard to put it in any other fashion.
Terry's ragged, on-the-edge display summed it up. He was a sending-off waiting to happen.
Or maybe the bizarre happenings at the start of the second half - when Didier Drogba suddenly developed an injury without kicking a ball and all three substitutes had been used - typified Chelsea's disarray more colourfully.
But to dwell on the whole swathe of Chelsea deficiencies would do grave injustice to a remarkable Tottenham.
It may not have been sweeter but it was stronger than the display against Arsenal.
Michael Dawson is proving an inspirational captain, Heurelho Gomes having the time of his life, Tom Duddlestone dominant, the combination of Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko crackling with ingenuity and velocity.
But if one man symbolises this vibrant Spurs, it has to be Gareth Bale.
Bale runs longer than an election campaign. He doesn't have a rest at half-time, he has a service.
But it's not just miles he puts on the clock. At 20 years of age, Bale is developing into an identikit Premier League footballer.
Versatile with a voracious appetite for work and no little talent.
He could not have caused more havoc had he been erupting lava.
Three quality crosses were only ricochets away from tangible results before Bale plumped for a solo surge.
Jon Obi Mikel was later than a flight home with his token challenge but perhaps the evening sun bedazzled Dowd. For that poor call alone, Spurs deserved the benefit of the doubt.
It came when David Bentley had a second bite from a corner (won, almost inevitably, by Bale) and as his cross spirited its way through a tangle of Nikes, Terry stooped with face, shoulder and arm leaning towards the ball.
It might have hit a combination of all three but Terry's protests would have fallen on unsympathetic ears around the land.
Defoe's emphatic conversion belied his pretty appalling penalty record.
The watching Fabio Capello will have been comforted - with Defoe's confidence, that is, not the startling recurrence of Terry's uncertainty.
In mitigation, Terry could have pointed to the paper-thin defensive shield provided by Mikel, who soon hobbled off for Michael Ballack.
Not that the German offers a lot more in the work-rate department.
And hard work was just one of the qualities Chelsea were short of yesterday.
Considering their exertions against Arsenal, Harry Redknapp's side might have been excused a degree of lethargy.
But they were bullyingly more powerful.
And in Bale, have a player whose battery never blinks.
When Pavlyuchenko slipped Bale into a confrontation with Paulo Ferreira, trouble must have filled Ancelotti's nostrils.
Ferreira froze, allowing Bale to drift inside and thread a right-footed shot between Petr Cech and post.
Ancelotti shrunk into his bucket seat.
To think Bale was once the jinx in this team. In his first 25 League games for Spurs, he was never on the winning side.
He almost became a figure of slight ridicule - somewhat as Gomes once was.
Those days are distant, barely believable memories around here.
Gomes was a one-man Jumbotron highlights package prior to kick-off and while a couple of yesterday's efforts would have struggled to make the final cut, they were impressive all the same.
Gomes may have exaggerated fending away Florent Malouda's effort but he got horizontally airborne to deal with a sumptuous Lampard volley.
Had it beaten Gomes, that might have dissuaded Ancelotti from sending on Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka, exhausting his substitute options.
And never has a gamble seemed to have backfired so quickly and so freakishly.
Raising his leg to prepare for the restart, Drogba appeared to feel something remiss in his groin or his thigh.
He limped over to where Ancelotti and his staff were remonstrating, pleading, begging, harassing, call it what you will, with the fourth official.
The gist was 'Can we change our mind?'. It was desperate stuff.
Drogba returned to action and, in fairness, never shirked from the physical challenges.
But both physically and mentally, Chelsea were simply not dialled in. Even a minor brawl - instigated by a frustrated Lampard kick at Huddlestone - could not lift them.
And had Cech not denied Defoe so commendably, this contest would have been over a while before Terry committed himself to what was always going to be a bookable foul on a rampaging Bale.
The trouble was that, just 3min 25sec earlier, Terry had also rashly halted Pavlyuchenko.
Capello's stern look said an awful lot. But maybe if he loses faith with Terry, Capello can turn to Dawson, who was once again immense at the heart of defence.
He could even be a future leader, judging by the way he cajoled, led by example... and celebrated a win that should have been achieved without three nailbiting minutes after Lampard converted Ballack's injury-time cross.
But it was Dawson who stood firm amidst a frantic late assault while Pavlyuchenko squandered a great chance to ease nerves.
It was one of those sort of nights.
Spurs go marching on, the tannoy blared. It was right.
For the battered and tattered of Chelsea, the battle starts all over again.
---------------------------------------------
Mail:
NO bare chest with armband straining around a proud bicep this time. No tossing mementoes into an adoring swell of support.
Just a painful walk from the man who has made a good few of those in his time.
As John Terry flicked the captaincy to Frank Lampard and strode off with a sense of injustice, Carlo Ancelotti clasped his hands together in that typically Italian prayer-like way.
Out of the clear blue heavens, a bolt had struck Chelsea, JT, Ancelotti and their procession to the title.
They might recover from this. They might not miss Terry too much when Stoke arrive next Sunday. Ancelotti might even recover his composure after a tumultuous evening.
But whether or not Chelsea regain their nerve is another matter.
This was not only a setback in the table - this was a psychological hammer blow.
Chelsea were overwhelmed.
Forget the fraught flurry after Lampard had pilfered an injury-time goal, this was a thumping triumph.
As they slumped away from White Hart Lane, there was only one tangible consolation... their goal difference had escaped a pummeling.
No excuses, no match for Spurs in physique or talent and, after Phil Dowd's two yellow cards, no skipper.
And, perhaps more significantly, no discipline.
Under the increasingly bemused gaze of one of football's calmest coaches, Ancelotti's Chelsea lost it.
It's hard to put it in any other fashion.
Terry's ragged, on-the-edge display summed it up. He was a sending-off waiting to happen.
Or maybe the bizarre happenings at the start of the second half - when Didier Drogba suddenly developed an injury without kicking a ball and all three substitutes had been used - typified Chelsea's disarray more colourfully.
But to dwell on the whole swathe of Chelsea deficiencies would do grave injustice to a remarkable Tottenham.
It may not have been sweeter but it was stronger than the display against Arsenal.
Michael Dawson is proving an inspirational captain, Heurelho Gomes having the time of his life, Tom Duddlestone dominant, the combination of Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko crackling with ingenuity and velocity.
But if one man symbolises this vibrant Spurs, it has to be Gareth Bale.
Bale runs longer than an election campaign. He doesn't have a rest at half-time, he has a service.
But it's not just miles he puts on the clock. At 20 years of age, Bale is developing into an identikit Premier League footballer.
Versatile with a voracious appetite for work and no little talent.
He could not have caused more havoc had he been erupting lava.
Three quality crosses were only ricochets away from tangible results before Bale plumped for a solo surge.
Jon Obi Mikel was later than a flight home with his token challenge but perhaps the evening sun bedazzled Dowd. For that poor call alone, Spurs deserved the benefit of the doubt.
It came when David Bentley had a second bite from a corner (won, almost inevitably, by Bale) and as his cross spirited its way through a tangle of Nikes, Terry stooped with face, shoulder and arm leaning towards the ball.
It might have hit a combination of all three but Terry's protests would have fallen on unsympathetic ears around the land.
Defoe's emphatic conversion belied his pretty appalling penalty record.
The watching Fabio Capello will have been comforted - with Defoe's confidence, that is, not the startling recurrence of Terry's uncertainty.
In mitigation, Terry could have pointed to the paper-thin defensive shield provided by Mikel, who soon hobbled off for Michael Ballack.
Not that the German offers a lot more in the work-rate department.
And hard work was just one of the qualities Chelsea were short of yesterday.
Considering their exertions against Arsenal, Harry Redknapp's side might have been excused a degree of lethargy.
But they were bullyingly more powerful.
And in Bale, have a player whose battery never blinks.
When Pavlyuchenko slipped Bale into a confrontation with Paulo Ferreira, trouble must have filled Ancelotti's nostrils.
Ferreira froze, allowing Bale to drift inside and thread a right-footed shot between Petr Cech and post.
Ancelotti shrunk into his bucket seat.
To think Bale was once the jinx in this team. In his first 25 League games for Spurs, he was never on the winning side.
He almost became a figure of slight ridicule - somewhat as Gomes once was.
Those days are distant, barely believable memories around here.
Gomes was a one-man Jumbotron highlights package prior to kick-off and while a couple of yesterday's efforts would have struggled to make the final cut, they were impressive all the same.
Gomes may have exaggerated fending away Florent Malouda's effort but he got horizontally airborne to deal with a sumptuous Lampard volley.
Had it beaten Gomes, that might have dissuaded Ancelotti from sending on Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka, exhausting his substitute options.
And never has a gamble seemed to have backfired so quickly and so freakishly.
Raising his leg to prepare for the restart, Drogba appeared to feel something remiss in his groin or his thigh.
He limped over to where Ancelotti and his staff were remonstrating, pleading, begging, harassing, call it what you will, with the fourth official.
The gist was 'Can we change our mind?'. It was desperate stuff.
Drogba returned to action and, in fairness, never shirked from the physical challenges.
But both physically and mentally, Chelsea were simply not dialled in. Even a minor brawl - instigated by a frustrated Lampard kick at Huddlestone - could not lift them.
And had Cech not denied Defoe so commendably, this contest would have been over a while before Terry committed himself to what was always going to be a bookable foul on a rampaging Bale.
The trouble was that, just 3min 25sec earlier, Terry had also rashly halted Pavlyuchenko.
Capello's stern look said an awful lot. But maybe if he loses faith with Terry, Capello can turn to Dawson, who was once again immense at the heart of defence.
He could even be a future leader, judging by the way he cajoled, led by example... and celebrated a win that should have been achieved without three nailbiting minutes after Lampard converted Ballack's injury-time cross.
But it was Dawson who stood firm amidst a frantic late assault while Pavlyuchenko squandered a great chance to ease nerves.
It was one of those sort of nights.
Spurs go marching on, the tannoy blared. It was right.
For the battered and tattered of Chelsea, the battle starts all over again.
---------------------------------------------
Mail:
Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1: Leaders lose grip as John Terry is sent off, while Spurs climb to fourth
By Patrick Collins
On an extraordinary evening at White Hart Lane, Chelsea lost their captain, their composure and the impressive air of certainty which once attended their challenge for the Premier League title.
And as the significance of the day started to sink in, Harry Redknapp delivered this impeccable summary: ‘The championship is wide open again.’
A combination of Paul Scholes’ belated goal at Eastlands, the spirited excellence of Redknapp’s Spurs and the crass irresponsibility of John Terry have postponed Chelsea’s coronation and prepared our finest football teams for a battle to the death.
The only certainty is that this title will be hard won.
But if Scholes’ contribution was dramatic and Tottenham’s simply admirable, then Terry’s was by far the most disturbing.
Beneath the gimlet stare of Fabio Capello, Terry had spent an uncomfortable, unconvincing hour or so against the pace and movement of Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko. He had conceded a penalty in 15 minutes, moving his arm instinctively, almost involuntarily to a ball in the area. Having escaped a time or two recently, the Chelsea captain appears to think it entirely legal.
Referee Phil Dowd corrected him and awarded a penalty Defoe converted with a gleeful thump.
Terry grew more vulnerable and in 63 minutes he was booked for a crude trip on Pavlyuchenko. And then, three minutes later, the roof fell in. Defoe came stepping nimbly along the left touchline and played a pass into Gareth Bale.
As the Spurs player moved on to the ball, Terry came across at speed, plunging into a tackle which was as self-indulgent as it was reckless. Dowd made the easiest decision of the night when he sent him off.
Terry being Terry, he paused for a menacing word with the blameless Bale. Significantly, the captain’s colleagues were not inclined to argue. One wonders just what Capello made of such idiocy. And one wonders if Terry’s World Cup place is quite as secure as we used to think.
None of which should distract from Spurs’ performance. They pursued their goal of fourth place with style and assurance. They never allowed Chelsea a moment’s luxury on the ball, in Bale they had the game’s outstanding performer, and they fully deserved the matchwinning advantage which their first-half display secured.
A week which had started with a calamitous FA Cup semi-final loss to Portsmouth was transformed by a distinguished midweek win over Arsenal.
Somebody said, with cavalier disdain for cliche, that it all depends which Spurs side turn up.
In fact, they revealed a genuine relish for the task.
They attacked with pace, expressing themselves resourcefully, stretching Chelsea, enjoying the breathing space of the penalty goal.
Chelsea slowly discovered their passing game, forcing Spurs to chase in hope. But again, fortune deserted them in 37 minutes when Florent Malouda’s scoring touch was ruled out for a marginal offside.
But the decisive moment arrived seven minutes later. Bale swapped passes with Pavlyuchenko, Paulo Ferreira backed off to a dangerous degree, allowing the Tottenham player time to assess his options. And Bale chose to smash it into the bottom corner.
The old place fairly shook with the noise of celebration.
A touch of farce entered proceedings at the start of the second half. Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic came in for Joe Cole and Ferreira. Then, seconds before the restart, Didier Drogba came limping to the sideline with a groin strain.
Chelsea tried to reorganise but with Michael Ballack having already replaced injured John Obi Mikel, all the substitutes had been used. So Drogba had to stay around, while a kind of chaos reigned.
The 53rd minute brought further chaos, when Frank Lampard’s tackle on Tom Huddlestone provoked a brawl. Deco and Huddlestone were booked, Lampard, obscurely, escaped.
By then, Defoe should have ended all the arguments but his shot was undisciplined and Petr Cech parried it past a post, with Chelsea in total disarray.
Spurs were coming home with some ease, the only interruption to their progress being the goal which Lampard accepted in added time.
Even then, Pavlyuchenko should have added a touch of reality to the score, but he managed the miss of the night.
It did not matter. Chelsea were finished.
With a point’s advantage and three to play, they must remain favourites. But it will be more difficult, much more pressurised. Nothing is certain. And now they must wait, and wonder.
----------------------------------------------------
Independent:
Bale makes hay as hot Spurs stun Blues
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 1:
Terry shown red card in miserable Chelsea display which cuts their lead at top and allows Tottenham to leapfrog City
By Steve Tongue at White Hart Lane
Relishing their role as kingmakers, Tottenham Hotspur last night did unto Chelsea as they had done to equally unloved London rivals in Arsenal, thereby opening up a convoluted Premier League race which Chelsea would have hoped to close out until yesterday's dramatic derbies in east Manchester and north London. More importantly for their own ambitions, Spurs were able to move above Manchester City, and go two points clear in fourth place before they visit Manchester United on Saturday.
Sir Alex Ferguson should have a whole case of best Bordeaux ready for Tottenham's Harry Redknapp, in the knowledge that his team could now regain the leadership before Chelsea play again, at home to Stoke a week today.
For that game against Stoke's aerial bombardment, the leaders will be without their captain John Terry, who conceded a penalty for the first goal, and was then sent off for two tackles within the space of three minutes.
Yesterday they looked the tired team, even though it was Tottenham who had gone through the more demanding midweek engagement, and with one day less to rest. Chelsea were so out of sorts that Carlo Ancelotti made his three substitutions before the start of the second half, prompting a bizarre incident in which Didier Drogba appeared to want to come off as well. Drogba had no joy whatsoever out of the outstanding Michael Dawson, who must have impressed England manager Fabio Capello – far more so on this day than Terry.
Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira were hauled off at half-time, having been unable to stem the flow of Spurs attacks down the Chelsea right, in which Gareth Bale confirmed his emerging status as one of the bright young men of British football.
Tottenham were again unable to select Aaron Lennon, Niko Kranjcar or Jermaine Jenas in that midfield area, yet still Chelsea could not take a grip, before or after John Obi Mikel was injured. Their goal, by Frank Lampard, was too late to matter and only came after the home side spurned numerous chances on the counter-attack.
"After the disappointment of last Sunday [in the FA Cup semi-final], it's been two unbelievable performances against Arsenal and Chelsea," Redknapp said. "We had to raise our game again and did even better than against Arsenal. It's still going to be tight [for fourth place] but we can go to Old Trafford and give it a real go."
Ancelotti could find few consolations in his team's performance, only in the League table. He had pledged "the same mentality, same philosophy" as in the recent victory away to United, which should have meant starting at a high tempo and taking the game to the home side. His team not only failed to do so, but were left in arrears within a quarter of an hour and two goals down by the interval.
If the referee Phil Dowd was a key figure in the early period of pressure, he made it third time lucky for Spurs, third time unlucky for the visitors, who many were convinced should have conceded two penalties in an edgy victory over Bolton in midweek. Dowd turned down appeals when Terry appeared to foul Jermain Defoe and then when Mikel tackled Bale.
At the third time of shouting, however, Spurs were granted their wish. Roman Pavlyuchenko drove the ball across and Terry, as he had done in midweek, failed to take his arm away. Defoe, by no means a deadeye from the penalty spot recently, emphatically beat Petr Cech.
Two minutes before half-time, a difficult situation for Chelsea became critical. Pavlyuchenko sent Bale down the left to cut inside Ferreira and score at the near post with his supposedly weaker right foot. Chelsea, who deserved no better, were denied a way back into the game in the last attack of the half. Yuri Zhirkov crossed from the left and Lampard hit a brutal volley that Heurelho Gomes saved in as thrilling a fashion as he had denied Arsenal three days earlier.
Making two changes at the interval, with Ballack already on for Mikel, was a dangerous ploy at such an early stage that illustrated Chelsea's desperation. Even before the restart Drogba limped to the touchline holding his groin but he was soon back in the thick of an increasingly furious game that spilled over into one of those ridiculous mass confrontations after Lampard fouled Luka Modric.
Tottenham kept the upper hand and the pressure they were exerting was reflected in Terry's reckless tackling. He brought down Pavyluchenko and in almost the next attack did the same to Bale. As five minutes of added time began, Lampard slid in Ballack's cross but by then the game should have been long beyond them. The title is still within reach, just.
Attendance: 35,814
Referee: Phil Dowd
Man of the match: Bale.
Match rating: 8/10
--------------------------------------------------
Observer:
Gareth Bale and Tottenham slice through Chelsea's title pretensions
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Defoe (pen) 15, Bale 44 Chelsea 1 Lampard 90
Amy Lawrence at White Hart Lane
Gareth Bale scored an outstanding goal for Tottenham's second, also his second of the week against the club's major London rivals. Photograph: Tony Marshall/EMPICS Sport
Before kick-off, it was easy to poke fun at the eternally optimistic Tottenham supporter who laid a heavy sum on his team to beat Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United at odds of 40-1. Well, well, well. One thing is sure, Carlo Ancelotti will be desperate for Spurs to put in such a sparkling performance next weekend at Old Trafford.
Harry Redknapp's team are suddenly surfing atop a wave of adrenalin and excitement, and two outstanding results have bounced them back into a Champions League position. Chelsea departed White Hart Lane with their momentum battered and their egos bruised. Their lead at the Premier League summit has been trimmed to a point, and a goal difference only three better than the scrapping, lurking, defending champions.
It was a dreadful evening for Chelsea, who lost their captain to a self-inflicted red card, their tempers in a situation they could not handle, and their comfortable cushion in the title race. "We were a bit down," conceded Ancelotti. "But we have to stay calm. We are top of the table and I think we have less pressure than the other teams."
John Terry seems to have had a pretty uneventful match against Spurs: four tackles won from four as well as a couple of free-kicks to boot. But those three red dots tell the story of his team's demise at White Hart Lane - the first marks his concession of a penalty for handball; the other two denote consecutive yellow cards inside five minutes. But what an extraordinary week for Spurs. Floored by Portsmouth in the FA Cup over two hours on the Wembley quagmire, they responded to scalp two London rivals who like to consider themselves superior. Top marks for character as well as craft. "Two unbelievable performances and well-deserved," concluded Harry Redknapp.
His team set about their task with relish, evidently buoyed by their long-awaited win over Arsenal. Luka Modric used the ball craftily, Gareth Bale galloped forward with his engine in overdrive. Roman Pavlyuchenko's drifting movement and willingness to shoot stretched the Chelsea defence. Further back Michael Dawson was watertight.
Tottenham upped the pressure with a rush of big appeals just before the quarter-hour. First, Terry tangled with Jermain Defoe on the edge of the area, next Bale tumbled fractionally ahead of Mikel John Obi's challenge, then Pavlyuchenko's acrobatic flick was brushed away by a vague combination of Terry's nodded head and upper arm.
It was third time lucky. To Terry's astonishment the referee, Phil Dowd, pointed to the spot. Defoe, who choked with a couple of penalties earlier in the season, was eager to take responsibilty and he nervelessly cracked his shot past Petr Cech.
Defoe cantered off to celebrate. Terry argued with Dowd and, as if to back him up, even Redknapp admitted later the decision was harsh. Mind you, perhaps there was some karmic force at work which evened out some of the fortune that smiled on Chelsea regarding penalty appeals for Bolton last week.
There were plentiful opportunities to double the home advantage before half-time, with Pavlyuchenko and David Bentley rattling at Chelsea's ramparts, before Bale stormed the barricades. He made mincemeat of Paulo Ferreira, jinked inside his man, and proved surprisingly deadly with his right foot. Cech was certainly stunned as the Welshman arrowed his shot in at the near post.
Ancelotti had urged Chelsea to replicate their commanding performance at Old Trafford this month. Hmmm. His team were second best. Outmanoeuvred in midfield, outrun at the back, and snuffed out up front, with Heurelho Gomes again formidable.
The second half started badly as Didier Drogba felt his groin just before the restart and limped to the sidelines even though Ancelotti had just brought on all of his substitutes. Frustration began to gnaw, and Lampard kicked out at Tom Huddlestone.
Tempers frayed as both sets of players sprinted to the scene of a little dust-up.
Just what Chelsea needed at such a delicate moment was for Terry to start lunging into tackles with reckless imprecision. So soon after the dangerous pounce at James Milner's knee, Fabio Capello again looked on as the deposed England captain overstepped the line of riskiness. Two late tackles within three minutes left Dowd with no option but to dismiss Terry for two bookable offences. Chelsea did cause some late nerves when Lampard poked in Michael Ballack's cross in stoppage time, but Tottenham deservedly hung on for another momentous result.
"We missed four or five chances to kill them off," said Redknapp. "One last shot at goal and anything can happen, but luckily it didn't. If you had offered me five points from these three games I'd have snapped your hand off. We've got six already, so we can go to Old Trafford and give it our best shot."
----------------------------------------------------------------
