Both of these teams came into this London Derby with something to play for. For Chelsea, they needed a win and hope for a Manchester United loss at the Emirates to have a realistic shot at the title. Spurs have had a bit of a tough time following their Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid. A run of draws coupled with decent form by Manchester City and Liverpool had put not only a Champions League spot in question, but perhaps even a Europa league spot.
The match started open for both sides. After all, a draw wasn't going to do anybody any good. Spurs had some good possession in the Chelsea area early, and got a free kick for Rafael Van der Vaart. Unfortunately, it sailed over everybody and and resulted in nothing.
Chelsea took charge for a bit after that. Both Torres and Drogba started up front. Torres had a nice look in the 11th minute, but his shot was deflected. He certainly played better today. Drogba was doing his thing too. In the 13th minute he set up a free kick, that he promptly drilled off Spurs' crossbar. Replays showed Gomes got a finger to it that probably kept it out. The Blues were having the better of possession now.
Spurs were undaunted though, and they got a goal against the run of play. They came up the pitch in the 19th minute and Brazilian Sandro fired off a hell of a strike that bent beautifully into the top corner to give Spurs a 0-1 lead. The Blues fans were stunned. The game got a little contentious after that. In the 23rd, Essien had a header saved by Gomes. Torres got a shot off in the 24th, and in the 25th, Gareth Bale took a dive that was disgusting to watch.
The first bit of real controversy came on the stroke of half time. Lampard took a shot from about the top of the area. It looked to be a given for Gomes, but he messed it all up in a Robert Green type fashion. The ball squirted between his legs and went at least mostly over the goal line. Indeed, the linesman gave the goal, and we were tied up at 1-1. However, all replays pretty much suggested that the whole ball didn't cross, and Lampard shouldn't have scored. Nonetheless, the goal counted and we went to the half knotted at 1-1.
The second half was really the Chelsea show, mostly run by Drogba. The Spurs never really threatened again, but the half was not controversy. In the 68th minute Malouda was clearly taken down in front of goal, but no penalty was given. Chelsea were screwed over there. Maybe it was a bit of a makeup call. Who knows? It ended up being all good for Chelsea though, in the 88th minute Kalou put the winner in the back of the net after a flurry of activity in front of Gomes' goal. Replays showed he might have been offside, but Chelsea will take it either way, and they took the derby 2-1.
It's hard to not feel like the Spurs got screwed a little bit here. Both Chelsea goals were dubious. However, goal line technology debate aside, if Gomes hadn't committed yet another howler, it wouldn't have been an issue. Plus, the Spurs really didn't make an effort, especially in the second half despite Van der Vaart's whining and Bale's diving. It doesn't look like Bale will have any Champs league glory next year unless he's playing for someone else.
For Chelsea, this result combined with Arsenal beating United puts them to within 3 points of The Red Devils going into next week's showdown at Old Trafford. They outplayed Spurs, who really lack a striker, and they didn't deserve to go down in defeat either. Next weekend will be awesome.
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