Published: 22 October, 2012
by PAUL COWLING

Barclays Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 4

THERE was neither humble pie or a bitter pill for André Villas Boas to swallow after this home defeat to the club that sacked him, but it will have still hurt.

For a brief spell during this enthralling London derby, his Tottenham side looked on course for all three points, after they had been a goal down.

And had Spurs managed to hold on,  things would have tasted so much sweeter for a manager who had spent all week talking down his own desire for revenge on Chelsea.

After the game, AVB reflected on a missed opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table: "Everyone is disappointed because we wanted to go nearer to the top and this was a good chance to bring them (Chelsea) down."

That Spurs didn't win was down to the league leaders having that little bit of extra quality to call on. Where Spurs had lost Gareth Bale (to baby birth duties) and Moussa Dembele (to a hip injury), Chelsea could call on Eden Hazard and Juan Mata (who scored twice), so it  mattered not that Fernando Torres had another off day, and Frank Lampard was on the bench.

Spurs were poor in the first half. They got stuck in a midfield mire. Sandro and Clint Dempsey were off the pace, Aaron Lennon perfomed in fits and starts and Jermain Defoe looked isolated. Passes went astray, and rare opportunities on goal were squandered.  

Spurs had needed everyone to perform, and for a while they began to, cancelling out Gary Cahill's 17th minute thunder volley just after the restart.

Sloppy Chelsea marking from a Tom Huddlestone free kick, saw Jan Vertonghen lay on for William Gallas to head the equaliser against his former club on 47 minutes.

Suddenly Spurs and their fans had come to life; suddenly, left back Vertonghen was getting in crosses and shots, and Tottenham were playing with the fluency they had failed to find in the first half.

It was no surprise when Jermain Defoe put his side 2-1 up with a smart first time shot.

Chelsea's heads had dropped for the first time; but not for long. The European Champions pushed Spurs back when the home side went in search of a third, and  equalised on 66 minutes with a low drive from Mata.

Hazard combined with the Spanish international three minutes later to put Chelsea 3-2 up. Suddenly, the home crowd were silenced again, and it was Chelsea who took back control.

ABV, who had been whistling with the loud shrill of 'One Man and his Dog', sent on Emmanuel Adebayor to bolster the forward line, but the Togo striker was not match sharp.

In the meantime Chelsea fans began to rub it in with 'Andre Andre, what's the score?'

Spurs still pushed for an equaliser, but Cech pushed a drive from Kyle Walker round the post. This was Walker's one bright spot of a forgettable afternoon. Poor for England on World Cup duty last week, the right bank dithered on the ball in injury time, and was outmuscled by Mata who crossed for Daniel Sturridge for a tap in to make it 4-2 Chelsea.

It was AVB who had signed Mata early in his Chelsea reign, a point not lost on Chelsea's boss Roberto di Matteo after the match: "Yes Thanks AVB!", said the Swiss Italian, with a wry smile.

This Mata inflicted defeat will be hurting Villas Boas, but he insisted all was not lost for his Spurs side.
"We have 30 more games ahead of us and we have to be focused.

"We have to bounce back from adversity and improve our results again."

Spurs fans know their side came close to beating Chelsea, and they will be sharing AVBs optimism. They know three points are there for the taking at Southampton next Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1):
Friedel; Walker, Gallas (capt), Caulker, Vertonghen; Huddlestone (Livermore 67), Sandro; Lennon, Dempsey (Adebayor 74), Sigurdsson; Defoe:
Substitutes (not used): Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Falque, Townsend.



Chelsea (4-3-3):
Cech (capt); Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Mata, Ramires; Oscar (Sturridge 83), Torres, Hazard (Lampard 89). 
Substitutes (not used): Turnbull, Bertrand, Azpilicueta, Romeu, Moses.



Goals: Spurs – Gallas 46, Defoe 54. Chelsea – Cahill 17, Mata 66, 70, Sturridge 90+1.

Attendance: 36,060.