For Tottenham Hotspur, it was 39 hours after the game in Sevilla and time for another one; the team had stayed and trained in Spain during the Friday before going home. Fatigue understandably being an issue, Martin Jol made relevant changes to his starting XI, with Mido and Jermain Defoe starting up front and Aaron Lennon resting as well. Pascal Chimbonda, versatile as ever, was employed at left-back in place of the injured Young-Pyo Lee. Ricardo Rocha, ineligible against Sevilla, was back to partner Michael Dawson in central defence. José Mourinho, whose team had played in the Champions League, albeit at home, had also made some changes to his midweek team, with Shevchenko and Ballack both on the bench, Claude Makelele back in position and Shaun Wright-Phillips starting on the right.
The latter had a bright start, made a nice run and crossed the ball to Didier Drogba, who just missed it. Chelsea kept the pressure on and forced Spurs keeper Paul Robinson into several saves during the first half, even if this game, in comparison with the previous three encounters between the sides this season, was a subdued affair. A nice run by Hossam Ghaly enabled him to find Teemu Tainio, but the Finn was well blocked by the Chelsea defence. An effort by Frank Lampard was cleared by Michael Dawson and Ricardo Carvalho’s effort on goal was blocked by Robinson. The first half ended goalless and despite Chelsea’s comparative domination it all looked quite open. Neither team was at full speed; the Spurs defence, the busier of the two in the first half, looked solid.
Spurs opened the second half with a nice opportunity for Mido, when Chimbonda’s cross and Ghaly’s head found the Egyptian. His powerful header was, however, saved expertly by Petr Cech. A few minutes later Carvalho managed to find an opening and fired a hopeful but forceful shot at goal from 40 yards, which went past Ricardo Rocha and Robinson to make it 1-0. Chelsea had awoken and Robinson had to save from Mikel soon after; Rocha, again employed to make life difficult for Drogba did a good job with just that as the Ivorian charged towards goal.
Spurs started replying more and more, as the second half became much more energetic than the first. On 65 minutes Jol substituted Tainio with Adel Taarabt, Spurs 17 year old loan signing from Lens, who immediately made his presence known. Mido passed to the Frenchman and his shot was on target but saved by Cech. Dimitar Berbatov, replacing Mido soon after, combined with Defoe to free Steed Malbranque, whose effort was cleared. A free kick afforded the Bulgarian with an opportunity to head nicely towards goal, but again, Cech managed to save, pushing the ball over the bar. Spurs continued to go for an equaliser, with efforts from Taarabt and Berbatov, but to no avail. At 1-0 it was to stay.
Two defeats in 48 hours cannot be said to reflect the performance of Spurs; rather than being a cause for despair and a worry that the team has ended up in another “slump” their play and composure inspire hope for the remainder of the season.
Chelsea
Cech, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Bridge, Makelele, Lampard, Mikel (Joe Cole 83), Drogba, Wright-Phillips (Ballack 71), Kalou (Shevchenko 74).
Subs Not Used: Hilario, Diarra.
Booked: Drogba, Joe Cole.
Goals: Carvalho 52.
Tottenham
Robinson, Stalteri, Dawson, Rocha, Chimbonda, Jenas (Zokora 81), Tainio (Taarabt 64), Ghaly, Malbranque, Mido (Berbatov 69), Defoe.
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Ifil.
Booked: Ghaly.
Attendance: 41,864
Referee: R Styles
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