Premier League: Chelsea 0 Tottenham 0

Tottenham maintained their five-point lead over Chelsea in the Premier League with an action-packed 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Juan Mata came closest for the hosts in the second half, curling a free-kick onto the upright with Brad Friedel rooted to the spot.

However, Spurs had perhaps had the best of the chances, with blocks on the line from Rafael van der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor, and a Gareth Bale header off their bar their biggest openings.

Tottenham came into the game having never won a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, and they looked bereft of confidence as they tried to buck that trend during the opening exchanges.

Several nervy passes saw the visitors lose possession and they were nearly opened up within five minutes as Ramires passed inside to Didier Drogba, only for the Ivorian’s clever flick to run just beyond Frank Lampard.

Though the early threat had at first appeared to settle Harry Redknapp’s side, they were almost caught cold again just 10 minutes in as Terry’s long pass almost found Drogba alone in the box. Unfortunately for the hosts, the African forward failed to control but the opportunity to utilise his presence had been underlined.

Chelsea provided another moment of menace when Drogba cleverly flicked a first-time ball behind the Spurs defence which just escaped Juan Mata’s intelligent run, but this proved a highlight of a one-paced opening.

Runs from deep seemed to provide the hosts’ best chance of breaking a stubborn Spurs backline, but Lampard saw his penalty claims waved away as he made contact with William Gallas while trying to shoot following a late burst.

After a slow start, the match came to life on the half-hour mark as some desperate defending from Spurs led to a breakneck counterattack which saw Emmanuel Adebayor deceive two defenders before just failing to pick out full-back Kyle Walker’s back-post run.

Following a brief interlude for a Drogba injury, Ashley Cole then found acres of space down the left but failed to make sufficient contact with the ball and saw his cross bounce limply into the arms of Friedel.

For much of the half Spurs had failed to show the attacking nature for which they have been widely praised this season but they almost went in at half-time with a lead. The previously anonymous Luka Modric turned cleverly in the box before setting up Van der Vaart, only for the Dutchman to see two efforts blocked brilliantly by Petr Cech and then Ashley Cole on the line before Adebayor headed agonisingly over.

Bale has at times been crucial for Redknapp’s men this term but much of their attacking malaise could be put down to the Welshman’s failure to have impact. That was until his jinking run from a central position early in the second half allowed Walker to find space in the box, but the defender could only shoot into the side-netting with more time than he perhaps expected.

Given the cautious nature of the match, it was clear that it would take something special to break the deadlock and Mata almost provided that with 20 minutes remaining. The Spaniard stepped up to hit a free-kick from 25 yards and curled the ball onto the post with Friedel stranded.

The Blues’ frustration at failing to gain a lead led to the introduction of the much-maligned Fernando Torres in place of Michael Essien, while Van der Vaart and Sandro made way for Louis Saha and Jake Livermore as the visitors looked to freshen things up.

The substitutions did seem to add more attacking impetus to both sides but Drogba typified the toothless nature of both forward lines as he shot tamely when given the opportunity to turn in the box.

Adebayor then showed equal wastefulness at the at the other end moments later as he rounded Cech following a ball over the top only to allow Gary Cahill to slide in and clear a low and weak shot.

Both sides attempted to push forward in the closing stages, with a generous four minutes of added time given, but they tempered their attacking instincts with a loss seen as a potentially disastrous result.

Bale’s low free-kick almost caught Cech by surprise at the death but the Blues defence held firm to earn a hard-fought point.