Chelsea were forced to settle for a frustrating 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday as Darren Bent staged a smash and grab raid at Stamford Bridge.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side dominated for long periods and deservedly went in front through Juliano Belletti’s first-half strike.
But Bent punished a mix-up between Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho to poach an equalizer on the stroke of halftime and Chelsea couldn’t break down Spurs again.
While Scolari can have few complaints about his team’s build-up play, their lack of cutting edge in the absence of Didier Drogba needs to be addressed.
Nicolas Anelka was a subdued figure and Scolari must be hoping the Blues can tie up a deal for Real Madrid forward Robinho before today’s transfer deadline.
With Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel injured, Scolari used Brazilian right-back Belletti as a make-shift holding midfielder.
Scolari’s side made a dazzling start. The tone was set by Lampard in the fifth minute. Joe Cole dummied Deco’s pass to Lampard on the edge of the Spurs area and the England midfielder’s sublime chip forced Heurelho Gomes into a superb tip over.
Anelka should have opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Belletti’s pass dissected the Spurs defense, but the France striker shot wildly over.
Michael Essien went much closer moments later as he surged forward in typically dynamic fashion before rattling the crossbar with a fierce drive.
Not for the first time, Ramos threw his arms up in disgust at his side’s inability to stem the tide. Spurs were wilting in the face of Chelsea’s fluid passing and relentless pressing.
They finally cracked after 28 minutes. Deco swung in a low corner and, when Bent made a hash of his attempted clearance, Belletti was on hand to volley past Gomes.
It was only Belletti’s third goal for Chelsea and his first since scoring against Spurs back in January.
But incredibly, the visitors went in level at halftime after Bent took advantage of a rare misstep from the Blues in the 45th minute.
Lampard nipped in to tackle Modric in midfield and Carvalho failed to close down Bent quickly enough. The Spurs striker pounced on the loose ball, burst into the penalty area and slipped his shot under Petr Cech.
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