32) Chelsea Fc 1 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Sat, 7th Apr 2007 Twenty home games unbeaten against Tottenham and another three points towards the continuing championship challenge. Those were the rewards for Ricardo Carvalho's second-half goal. After the firework's of the FA Cup encounters, this Saturday lunchtime kick-off was a much more sedate affair - both teams quite justified in point to their leg-sapping European exploits as mitigation. Cech was called upon in the second-half, if not the first, to earn his eighth consecutive clean sheet with three important save but though the chances were well-spread, it was a deserved, if narrow Chelsea win. As he attempted to keep some petrol in the tank for the long road to the end of the season, José Mourinho placed the older legs of Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack on the bench. That meant Salomon Kalou joined Didier Drogba in a two-man attack with a recall for Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right of a midfield diamond. Claude Makelele was also back and as announced the day before the game, the full-backs were rotated with Paulo Ferreira and Wayne Bridge starting this game. Spurs made multiple changes off the back of their UEFA Cup expedition to Spain. Dimitar Berbatov and Aaron Lennon, who had wrecked such havoc in the FA Cup game here, were absent from the starting line-up. Top scorer Berbatov was on the bench but with no Robbie Keane either, Ahmed Mido and Jermain Defoe were the strike partnership chosen. When the lunchtime kicked-off came, Chelsea were fastest out the blocks, something that couldn't be said often in recent months. The Blues could well have been in front inside just 25 seconds - Wright-Phillips's testing cross from the right just a yard from making contact with the head of Drogba 10 yards out. The early threat continued with Wright-Phillips, back in his recent midfield role, continuing to be prominent. It was his cross on seven minutes, after a clever back-heel by Lampard, that was almost converted by Terry at the far post. The ball broke to Kalou 15-yards out who lashed a first-time shot over the bar.

On 16 minutes, Tottenham attempts to contain Chelsea's push forwards resulted in the first booking of the game - Ghaly pulling back Bridge after the left-back had surged past the Egyptian midfielder and crossed. Carvalho rose high to head a Lampard corner on-target five minutes later but Robinson gathered. Cech continued to watch on as Spurs infrequent forays forward were halted by the offside flag. The teams had lined-up with similar team shapes and after Chelsea had found space early on, the game tightened and the pace slackened as mistakes were increasingly made by both sides. There was the odd glimmer of an opening for Kalou before Wright-Phillips took matters into his own hands just past the half-hour - sidestepping a couple of tackles in the centre of the park and shooting from 30 yards. The ball thumped into the hoardings at the Matthew Harding End. Seven minutes from the break, Chelsea had two chances in rapid succession - the first ended with Dawson clearing in front of goal after Lampard had athletically volleyed a Drogba knock-down. The second saw Robinson palm the ball down and away when Carvalho burst in front of Mido and shot low but straight at the England keeper. Two minutes before the break, the visitors produced their first shot of any note - from Jenas 30 yards out. Terry headed the ball behind. The scoreless draw at the break made it four games since the Blues had gone into the dressing room ahead at half-time. The start of the second-half was in contrast to the first with Cech called on to use his immense reach and reaction speed to tip over Mido's close range header. Ghaly had nodded a Chimbonda free-kick onto him. Speaking of contrasts, compare that contribution from the Chelsea keeper with the one from his opposite number when Chelsea took the lead on 51 minutes. Carvalho's shot was well struck after he took Mikel's sideway pass 30 yards out but Robinson's movement across goal left a big area at the far post to cover. He couldn't make it and our centre-back, one of the top performers of this match, and indeed the whole season, had his fourth goal of the campaign - his best Chelsea return.

The Spurs keeper did rather better a minute later, saving with his feet after Dawson slid the ball towards his own net as he cut out a Drogba square ball that was heading Kalou's way. There was suddenly a spring in the Chelsea step and Spurs were being stretched on the counter-attack. Drogba shimmied wide of the last defender and forced Robinson into a save on the hour after Kalou had pounced on a Tottenham slip. The visitors made a change on 65 minutes, Taarbat coming on for Tainio and playing at the front of the diamond. The on-loan signing from France made himself noticed immediately in his second appearance with a low 20-yard shot that Cech saw late as it flew under Terry. Still he pushed it round the post with an excellent save. Ballack was Chelsea's first sub used, replacing Wright-Phillips with 20 minutes to go. Shevchenko came on for Kalou soon after. In almost identical repeat of his earlier save, Cech touched over another header from just under the bar - this time from Berbatov who had come on after 68 minutes. It was another hugely important contribution. There final ten minutes plus four minutes stoppages were played out with minimal incident by two tired looking teams until two minutes into added time when a sublime moment of Joe Cole skill teed up a Lampard pass. He sent Drogba through but a covering tackle came in just as the 30-goal man was releasing the trigger. Cole was cautioned in the final 20 seconds as he hauled back Zokora, Drogba following into the book for kicking the ball away. The final whistle signalled an eighth consecutive league win. It's all eyes on Fratton Park this evening. Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2) Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry (c), Bridge; Makelele; WrightPhillips (Ballack 70), Mikel (J Cole 82); Lampard; Drogba, Kalou (Shevchenko 73). Scorer Carvalho 51. Booked Cole, Drogba. Tottenham (4-1-2-1-2) Robinson (c); Stalteri, Dawson, Rocha, Chimbonda; Jenas (Zokora 80); Ghaly (Taarabt 63), Tainio; Malbranque; Defoe, Mido (Berbatov 68). Booked Ghaly.