Sloppy Chelsea Pay The Price

Hardly ever has the saying "football is a game of two halves" been so apt in describing a match.

Chelsea today dropped their first points of the season thanks to a sloppy second half performance that hardly seemed likely at half time.

It was Chelsea who dominated the first half, Frank Lampard producing a lovely chip which the backtracking Gomes did well to tip over the bar.

Anelka should have made it 1-0 when he beautifully controlled Beletti's precise pass, but his shot was over the bar.

Michael Essien then burst forward and smacked a shot onto the crossbar. Frustration was beginning to build amongst the Chelsea support.

However, the opening goal came from the resulting corner, when Darren Bent's clearance struck Juliano Beletti and went into the net. Beletti also scored the opening goal at home to Tottenham last season, although that was a far more spectacular effort. Who says lightning doesn't strike twice?

It seemed Chelsea would go in at the break a goal to the good, but Tottenham then got a goal that they barely deserved. Luka Modric's pass took a lucky deflection off Lampard and went straight into the path of Darren Bent, who assuredly tucked the ball under Petr Cech.

Into the second half, Tottenham began to sit back and try to defend their situation, and Chelsea never really had an answer to such tactics.

Ashley Cole fizzed a cross-cum-shot across goal but no one could get on the end of it.

Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda and Franco Di Santo were thrown on in an attempt to find a winner, but the trio failed to leave a mark on the game.

The Blues seemed to lack ideas and their passing was blunt and often wayward. On this evidence a certain Brazilian winger is needed.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Belletti (Kalou 75); J Cole (Malouda 65), Essien, Lampard, Deco; Anelka (Di Santo 88).

Goals Belletti 26

Booked Deco 9, J Cole 44, Bosingwa 85

Tottenham (4-5-1): Gomes; Gunter (Huddlestone 62), Woodgate, King (c), Bale; Dos Santos (Lennon 58), Jenas, Zokora, Modric, Bentley (O' Hara 72); Bent.

Goals Bent 45