Barclays Premier League - Tottenham Versus Chelsea

Goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale dealt a massive blow to Chelsea's chase for the title. It blew the title race open, with Manchester United, who had beaten their rival Manchester City with a last-gasp winner, now within one point of Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea's captain John Terry was also sent off in this miserable evening for both fans and players of Chelsea. Even though Frank Lampard manage to score a goal for Chelsea, it was too late as Tottenham went on to win the match.

In the first-half, most of the pressure came from Tottenham. A 30 yards shot from Florent Malouda was parried by Heurelho Gomes but it was only the few chances Chelsea were able to create.

In the 15th minute, Tottenham opened the scoring. After two penalty appeals, Tottenham finally got what they wanted in the third appeal. Roman Pavlyuchenko stepped over a cross from Gareth Bale and Terry leant in with his arm, resulting in the referee awarding a penalty. Defoe was able to convert from the spot and the score read 1-0 in favour of Tottenham.

Pavlyuchenko almost doubled Tottenham's lead with a curling shot which Cech was able to tip it over for a corner. A volley from David Bently was also deflected off target after a skillful run by midfielder Luka Modric. It got worse for league leaders Chelsea when John Obi Mikel picked up an injury and was replaced by Michael Ballack in the 34th minute.

When Chelsea finally found the net, it was flagged offside and they were still trailing by one goal to none. Just before the break, Tottenham doubled their league through a goal from Gareth Bale. Cutting inside Paulo Ferreira, he used his unfavoured right foot to slot the ball into the net. Immediately after the goal, Chelsea almost pulled one back when Lampard's volley was saved by a fully-stretched Gomes.

Five minutes after the break, Defoe almost made it three nil when Pavlyuchenko played him through on goal, only for Cech to save the one-on-one opportunity. The feisty atmosphere went up a notch when Lampard and Huddlestone were involved in a tackle, leading to the Tottenham player getting a yellow card and Deco was also cautioned for his role in the aftermath. Terry, who received a yellow card by bringing down Pavlyuchenko midway through the half, was given a red card in the 67th minute when he fouled Bale. However, he told his teammates that he did not foul both of them as he came in contact with the ball when going down the tunnel after his dismissal.

It almost became worse for Chelsea when Bently produced a chip that almost when into the net, only for Cech to tip it over the goal. Tottenham hung on to secure all three points even though Frank Lampard pulled one back for Chelsea in the dying minutes. The game ended 2-1, in favour of Tottenham.