Spurs hit back to secure draw

Gylfi Sigurdsson's late leveller earned Tottenham a point from their 2-2 draw with Chelsea as the race for UEFA Champions League football remains in the balance.
Rafa Benitez's men looked on
course for the victory that would
effectively secure a top-four
finish after goals from Oscar and
Ramires either side of Emmanuel
Adebayor's stunner for Spurs. But Sigurdsson stepped off the
bench to curl home 10 minutes
from time to leave the visitors
three points adrift of Chelsea
and one behind Arsenal with just
two games to go. Chelsea took the lead with 10
minutes on the clock when Oscar
nodded home from close range at
the far post after Gary Cahill had
met Juan Mata's corner from the
right with Tottenham's defence failing to pick up their men. Spurs skipper Michael Dawson had
to be brave to put his head
directly in the way of a stinging
Eden Hazard shot in the 25th
minute after the Belgium
international had cut inside Kyle Walker. The visitors levelled moments
later with a stunning effort from
Adebayor, with the big striker
picking the ball up inside his own
half and advancing unchecked
deep into Chelsea territory before passing the ball into Petr
Cech's top corner. former Gunners forward
Adebayor had a chance to top
that stunning strike when he was
picked out by Jan Vertonghen's
vision, but he could not control
his volley from 12 yards out and fired over the bar. Benitez's men put their noses
back in front in the 39th minute
when Fernando Torres threaded
a pass from out on the right
through the Spurs defence for
Ramires to burst onto and toe- poke his finish across Hugo Lloris
and into the bottom corner. Chelsea made a strong start to
the second period and should
have extended their lead when
Hazard was found in space in the
Spurs box, only to fire over the
bar after leaving Walker on his backside with a neat turn. They looked certain to make it
3-1 in the 61st minute when a
sumptuous Hazard flick sent Mata
racing away before squaring the
ball to Ramires, only for the
Brazilian to lose his footing at the crucial moment and go crashing
to the turf. Spurs weathered the storm and
hit back, with Vertonghen's
attempted overhead kick at the
far post from Tom Huddlestone's
free-kick going over the bar with
Lewis Holtby in a better position to convert behind him. Andre Villas-Boas' men levelled 10
minutes from the end when
Benoit Assou-Ekotto's pass to
Adebayor was neatly back-heeled
by the big striker into the path
of Sigurdsson to fire beyond Cech for a point which keeps Spurs in
the race for the top four,
although they remain behind both
of their London rivals.