Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea | Paul Doyle
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Half-time: Fast, frantic and, after a one-sided start, very even. Chelsea were swept aside early doors but the dynamism of Meireles and Ramires has enabled them to gain a foothold in midfield and reduce the influence of Modric and Van der Vaart. This game could go either way. Don't go away. Or if you do, come back soon. Please.
45+4 min: Ferreira stabs the ball behind for a corner just as Bale threatens to break loose. Drogba clears at the near post.
45 + 2 min: Bale is back on the pitch, by the way. But no such luck for Mikel, who picked up some manner of knack and has to be replaced by Romeu.
45 min: Fine long-ball finds Assou-Ekotto loitering wide on the left. He whips in a cross that Adebayor control. The Togolese shoots on the turn but not with enough power to trouble Cech.
42 min: Spurs could be in bother here: Ramires catches Bale late and gets booked for it but that may not compensate for the damage to Bale, who's down receiving treatment. That is Spurs' fans cue to heap scorn on ... John Terry.
40 min: Superb control by Bale to retrieve an over-hit cross by Walker, but the Welshman is then crowded out, two Chelsea players wisely coming to help Ferreira.
38 min: Adebayor catches Mikel while trying to intercept. That's his second clumsy tackle since his booking: he needs to steady on or he'll not finish this match.
37 min: It's very even now, but Chelsea are doing well to prevent Bale getting a chance to run at Ferreira ...
Chelsea substitution: Ivanovic off, Ferreira on. Bosingwa will stay in the centre of defence.
31 min: Ivanovic is currently off the pitch having his hamstring massaged. Bosingwa has! tempora rily gone to centreback while Ramires slots in at right-back.
29 min:Drogba drives a shot against the crossbar! He controlled a Bosingwa cross from the right brilliantly on his chest after Walker misjudged it, and unleashed a left-footed volley from 10 yards that Friedel was never going to stop. In other newws, Lind Howard is back with an explanation. "Santa lasted only until my brother was old enough to start fostering that malicious streak that really glowed in the joy of spoiling Santa and the Easter Bunny. It's okay. The nuns at Catholic school would've been at it if he hadn't..."
27 min: Chelsea have their danders up now, as exemplified by Meireles's conifdent shot from 25 yards, which Friedel held at the second attempt.
26 min: Spurs seek to regain their lead immediately, with the hitherto quiet Walker scorching down the right. His cross is repelled. But this game looks like it has plenty of goals to come ...
GOAL! Spurs 1-1 Chelsea (Sturridge 23') Controversy here as Spurs claim a handball by Ashley Cole before the defender crosses to the unforgivably unmarked Sturridge, who taps into the net from close range. Replay shows that the ball did hit Cole's hand but only because Van der Vaart kicked it against it while attempting to intercept - no way should the ref have blown up for that. And lo, Chelsea are suddenly back in the game.
19 min: Adebayor booked for an incompetent late tackle on Mata. And on that note, Spurs fans take to chanting "John Terry, you know what you are" very loudly. Chelsea fans retort with "there's only one John Terry", to which Spurs fans reply "boooooo" rather than "thank goodness".
17 min: Chelsea are trying to get a handle on this game but they're no on the same level as Spurs at the moment. "To keep me from seeking out Christmas presents my mother used to tell me that she had positioned a piece of hair on each package and if any of the ! hairs ha d moved she would know I had been rummaging around up to no good," discloses Linda Howard. "And I believed her! Does that say more about her or about me?" So there were no Santa stories in your house?
15 min: No hesitation this time from Cech, who rushes out of his box to head clear a long pass from Assou-Ekotto.
13 min: Van der Vaart blems the freekick off the wall and out for a corner.
13 min: Chelsea can't cope with Spurs' pace. Ivanovic has just had to shove Bale over to prevent the Welshman from completing a one-two with Van der Vaart. That's booking for the defender and a freekick on the edge of the box for Spurs ...
11 min: A miss! A palpable miss! Friedel fumbled a fierce long-range shot from Mata and Sturridge beat King to the rebound but fired over from eight yards!
10 min: "Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo" boo the home fans, telling us that one J Terry is on the ball.
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Chelsea (Adebayor 8') Devastating simplicity from Spurs. Sandro dispossessed Sturridge in midfield and fed Bale, who hurtled down the left and in trademark fashion and sent a low cross towards the six-yard box, where Adebayor got to it before the hesitant Cech and sidefooted it into the net. A thoroughly-deserved opener for the hosts. Chelsea have been blown away in the first few minutes. can they respond?
6 min: It's all Spurs so far, with the hosts full of pace, purpose and movement. Chelsea, sitting deep, have yet to cobble together any move of note. "If you were six years old, what would you least rather have? A banana, an onion, or a Waffle House hat?" inquires William Marzouk. "This is a video of parents breaking their kids' hearts with lame Christmas presents." I don't have time to vet that so it better not be porn, William.
4 min: Top tip-tapping from Tottenham as they ping the ball about at pace, probing and keeping posse! ssion fo r a sustained period, without penetrating.
2 min: An early indication of what a boon it is for Spurs that Bale is fit: he slaloms through the Chelsea defence and then unleashes a shot with his right-foot from the edge of the area. The ever-defiant John Terry hurls himself in front of it to block.
1 min: We have kick-off, and already the pace is frenetic. Also, as you can see from the photo above, Spurs fans are getting into tonight's riff with some choice offers outside White Hart Lane. Mind you, 5 for toielt roll sounds steep ...
7.55pm: Out stomp the teams, their assorted visages all emblems of focus and firmness. And the atmopshere sounds superb...
7.50pm: "All I could think of when I read your last entry was 'what the hell is Wayne Bridge doing as an on-field reporter?" chortles Dan O. "Sorry... long day already."
7.44pm: Word from White Hart Lane is it was a false alarm: Drogba will be fit to start.
7.41pm: "paul, those Christmas gifts you've shown are good and all, but nothing says Christmas like a brand new fridge freezer," carol-sings Allan Crocker. "Especially when various Torquay United players have been roped in on the hard sell."
7.38pm: While Andre Villas-Boas is on Sky reiterating his support for innocent-unless-proven-guilty John Terry, Didier Drogba has taken a tumble in the warm-up and is now receiving treatment to his knee. He doesn't look comfortable. Might Chelsea have to resort to Fernando Torres earlier than hoped?
Team news:
Gareth Bale is back for Spurs and that's likely to spell trouble for Jose Bonsingwa. On the other hand, Aaron Lennon's enforced absence means Ashley Cole should have an opportunity to get to work on that vibrant young upstarta Kyle Walker - it'll be fascinating to see who comes off the best in that duel. Elsewhere, the decision to omit the excellent Younes ! Kaboul c ould be costly for Spurs. As might the inclusion of Mikel for Chelsea.
Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Ivanovic, Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Meireles; Sturridge, Drogba, Mata
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Lampard, Torres, Malouda, Ferreira, Kalou.
Spurs: Friedel; Walker, King, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Modric, Parker, Sandro, Bale; Van der Vaart; Adebayor
Subs: Gomes, Kaboul, Pavlyuchenko, Bassong, Kranjcar, Rose, Livermore.
Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
Preamble:
This is being billed by some as the battle to see who gets to be the top London club at Christmas, which suggests that some don't see it as having a bearing on the Manchester-domimated title race. Those some are probably right and, indeed, there is still a fair chance that neither of these sides will even finish the season as the top club from the capital, what with Robin Van Persie remaining strangely injury-free. On the other hand, in the event of the Manchester clubs catching the yips, Spurs and Chelsea could well take advantage, epecially if they bolster their ranks during January. Most likely, however, it's a tug-of-war for the fourth Champions League qualifying spot. Who's your money on?
In other news, Christmas is coming. Have you bought all your presents? Have you got a lot of football-themed delights? If not, might I point you in the direction of a Stoke City garden gnome? Or a Hull City dog bowl? Or how about what appears to be an artsy print of Steven Gerrard stamping on a liver bird? Or - and I implore you to try to top this - an official statue of Lionel Messi readyi! ng himse lf to defecate.
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