Tottenham Remain on Champions League Course After Chelsea Draw

Three times this season, Tottenham have fought to a stalemate at White Hart Lane. 

Against Everton, Liverpool and now Chelsea, they were the better side in goalless draws that were both frustrating and signs of progress. 

Mauricio Pochettino's team remain undefeated since the opening day and seem to have eradicated the errors that dogged them last season.

It is a team that has grown significantly year to year but remains short of title challengers.

It is worth noting that when Juventus went unbeaten through the entire Serie A season in 2011-12, they had just two more wins after 14 matches than Spurs have now (eight). 

Despite outplaying each of their rivals at the top of the table, Tottenham do not stand apart. 

They remain within striking distance of top spot, just four points behind, but are not yet in a position to push beyond them. 

Spurs probably had more to lose than to gain in this fixture, and avoiding defeat was rightly the priority. 

Victory would have taken them above Arsenal while defeat would have reawakened the supposedly slain beast of "Spursiness."

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Champions League qualification is now the expectation for Tottenham. They have played well enough in the opening months of the season to warrant that level of belief.

The draw with Chelsea does not undermine those hopes and happily keeps the reigning champions 10 points behind. 

It is difficult to look beyond the blue shirts that have dominated much of the past decade of English football. 

This iteration is not the finest Chelsea side, but shades of last season's dominant team remain, and Spurs were willing to give due respect. 

There was less elan from Pochettino's side on this occasion. Structure was more the order of the day, and the absence of Dele Alli was keenly felt. 

Ryan Mason, Alli's replacement in Spurs' midfield, is a fine player but lacks the same versatility and is less able to link the two lines in Pochettino's system. 

The injury-enforced replacement of Mason with Erik Lamela changed the nature of their attack. 

Lamela is better suited to ape Alli's vital contribution with his aggression and pace. 

Mousa Dembele's astonishing re-emergence as a Premier League star continued. His ability to almost simultaneously bully Chelsea's midfielders with his brute strength and make deft touches and incisive passes is remarkable. Its two-year absence has been much lamented but is quickly being forgotten with the consistency of Dembele's apparent second wind. 

There was less flair against Chelsea than in his last appearance, the 4-1 destruction of West Ham. Instead, his cool-headed presence in the middle was key. 

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho sent out a loose formation of five small, creative midfielders in an attempt to exploit perceived weaknesses in Spurs' defence. 

At the core of Pochettino's team are the powerful quartet of Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Mourinho accurately predicted that they might be troubled by runs from midfield and clever movement. 

Eden Hazard, nominally Chelsea's striker for the afternoon, was given freedom to roam about Spurs' back line and was a source of constant consternation. 

Oscar, Willian and Pedro provided the same difficulties.

In Mourinho's deliberately loose formation, there was discipline too. 

The front five hunted selectively but effectively. They chose their moments well and won the ball in dangerous areas on a number of occasions. Even the usually faultless Dier was briefly overcome.

Chelsea's approach demanded perfection in one-on-one situations. 

Alderweireld and Vertonghen were routinely asked to hold one of Chelsea's little magicians at bay with little support. 

Manchester United, Leicester City and Arsenal all drew this weekend, meaning that Tottenham's failure to take three points against Chelsea leaves the table unchanged. 

The upcoming fixtures will give Spurs a chance to hoard points and move further up the table. 

Not until mid-February do they face another team from last season's top six. 

West Brom, Newcastle, Southampton, Everton, Leicester, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Norwich and Watford twice each are Tottenham's next 11 Premier League opponents.

There are some tricky fixtures in that list, but it is a kind calendar across the hectic winter period. 

Spurs have battled gamely against each of their top four rivals so far this season. Now is the time to build momentum and accrue the points to guarantee a return to the Champions League in 2016.

It would be no more than they deserve.