Chelsea hold Spurs in Derby

London rivals miss chance to close in on leaders City

London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea slugged out a 1-1 draw in an exciting derby at White Hart Lane on Thursday as the home team held on to third spot in the Premier League.

Both sides were left to rue missed chances that could have edged them closer to leaders Manchester City and champions Manchester United and, worryingly, both enter the festive programme with injury problems.

Emmanuel Adebayor gave Tottenham the perfect start when he turned in a Gareth Bale cross after eight minutes but having dominated the opening exchanges the hosts were forced to retreat by a stirring Chelsea fightback.

The visitors, in fourth spot, equalised after 23 minutes through the lively Daniel Sturridge and had the better chances. In a thrilling second half Ramires wasted a glorious opportunity for Chelsea and Adebayor was denied a dramatic late winner by a sliding John Terry clearance in stoppage time.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas praised his side for their second-half dominance and said they could still win the title despite being 11 points behind leaders City. “In some ways, I think we lost two points today but getting a point here is still excellent,” the Portuguese told reporters. “In terms of our title challenge it keeps it alive.”

Going into the busy Christmas programme Tottenham have 35 points from 16 games, with Chelsea two points behind having played a game more than the north London club. City have 44 from 17 games, two ahead of United.