Juliano Belletti and Darren Bent were on the scoresheet as opposing sides of the Premier League table played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Bent's equaliser was the first goal conceded by Luiz Felipe Scolari's new-look Chelsea and these were the first points dropped. There were signs too that their commitment to a more expansive brand of football may come at a price.
Where once Chelsea would have invariably ground-down a stubborn, but lightweight Tottenham side, they instead allowed their London rivals to grow in confidence and could have even lost the game had the visitors made the most of some late counter-attacks.
The home side had started brightly and Frank Lampard had three long-range efforts in the early stages, the closest of which was a measured chip from the edge of the box in the sixth minute which required Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes to stretch full-length to put behind for a corner.
Though Tottenham seemed comfortable in possession and capable of putting together intricate passing moves, they offered little or no penetration to trouble the Chelsea back four in the early stages. Their best move came in the seventh minute when Giovani Dos Santos got behind Belletti and pulled the ball back for Darren Bent, but his left-footed shot deflected wide.
Chelsea on the other hand looked comfortable, and should have gone ahead in the 25th minute when Nicolas Anelka beautifully controlled a Deco pass with the outside of his foot, but volleyed over from 12 yards. They did take the lead just two minutes later through an unlikely source and in controversial circumstances.
Michael Essien had struck the bar with a swerving shot from 25-yards and, as Joe Cole attempted to put in the rebound, Jonathan Woodgate scrambled the ball behind for a corner. The Spurs defence felt the Chelsea man was in an offside position when Essien struck his initial shot, but referee Howard Webb awarded a corner.
Deco's low in-swinging ball was missed by Bent, and turned in to the net by Belletti, who was starting in centre midfield in place of the injured Jon Obi Mikel. It was the Brazilian's third goal since joining Chelsea.
Chelsea were cruising and it seemed a question of how many they would score, but despite their dominance they somehow managed to go into the interval on level terms. Bent won an aerial header and as Luka Modric attempted to play the ball past Lampard the ball rebounded off the Chelsea man back into the path of Bent, who slotted the ball under Peter Cech with his left foot.
Though Chelsea had the vast majority of the possession in the second half, they rarely threatened Gomes in the Tottenham goal. Ashley Cole shot wide two minutes into the second period, when he was put through by Essien. Substitute Salomon Kalou skewed a volley badly wide with 12 minutes to go after Anelka had beaten Ledley King in the air, but Chelsea lacked ideas as Spurs, in the end, claimed a relatively comfortable point.
Following Chelsea's draw, Liverpool had a chance to take a two-point lead at the top of the table but they too lost their 100% record as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa. To make matters worse Rafael Benítez saw Fernando Torres limp off with a suspected hamstring injury after 25 minutes.
Torres pulled up as he chased a ball from Javier Mascherano, and the severity of the injury was obvious as the Spaniard made his way straight down the tunnel, clear in his mind that there was no possibility of a return to action. With Steven Gerrard already on the injured list it was not the time for Liverpool to lose their most effective player.
The home side had the best chance of the first-half when Ashley Young beat Liverpool's offside trap and pulled the ball back for John Carew. The Norwegian had a clear sight of goal but could only strike Pepe Reina's legs from eight yards.
Robbie Keane had an opportunity to get his first goal for his new club, but he took too long when through on goal and was tackled by Nigel Reo-Coker. Villa were always dangerous from set-pieces and nearly claimed victory when Martin Laursen's header went just wide, but in a game of few chances neither side deserved all three points.
Meanwhile, Shaun Wright-Phillips scored twice as Manchester City recorded an emphatic 3-0 win away at Sunderland. Stephen Ireland had given the visitors the lead in first-half injury time when he stabbed past Craig Gordan after the Sunderland defence had failed to clear a Michael Johnson cross.
Wright-Phillips, who was making his second debut for the Eastlands side after rejoining the club on Thursday following three seasons at Chelsea, doubled their lead in the 50th minute when he slotted past Gordon after Jo, also making his league debut for City, had created the opportunity.
Wright-Phillips got his second eight minutes later when he latched onto a long pass from Michael Ball and finished from six yards. After defeat on the opening day at Aston Villa, Mark Hughes has now seen his side score six times without reply in two league games.
