Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham

Jenas (left) tries to keep Lampard and Chelsea at bay

A resolute Tottenham earned their first point of the season as they held a frustrated Chelsea to a draw.

Michael Essien hit the bar for Chelsea before they went ahead from a disputed corner after Darren Bent’s sliced clearance went in off Juliano Belletti.

But Bent atoned when he slotted in the equaliser after inadvertently being played in by Chelsea’s Frank Lampard.

The home side dominated possession in search of a winner but Spurs repelled their attacks to hold on for a draw.

Spurs last won at Stamford Bridge in February 1990 and their prospects of changing that appeared slim after losing their first two Premier League games of the season.

The dark cloud of absent striker Dimitar Berbatov continued to hang over the side but facing London neighbours Chelsea appeared to focus their minds.

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In the initial sparring, the visitors acquitted themselves in an organised and disciplined manner and limited Chelsea to shots from distance.

Lampard was the home side’s main threat early on as he tried his luck from range on several occasions.

He came closest when he ran on to Joe Cole’s dummy and produced an exquisite chip which the backtracking keeper Heurelho Gomes fantastically tipped over the bar.

Almost immediately, Spurs went close as Giovanni do Santos pulled the ball back for Bent, whose shot was deflected wide.

But, slowly and surely, Chelsea upped the pace and put the visitors defence under increasing pressure.

Blues striker Nicolas Anelka was played through by Belletti and beautifully controlled as he ran in between Spurs’ two centre-backs only to blaze his shot over.

Essien crashed a shot against the visitors’ crossbar before Spurs finally buckled.

Spurs argued at the award of a Chelsea corner as they believed Joe Cole was offside when Essien took his shot prior to Woodgate heading the ball out.

Their discontent was compounded when Bent’s miskicked clearance went in off Belletti.

The goal briefly unsettled Spurs but they were given a lifeline when a Modric pass wide struck Lampard and played Bent through on goal.

He slotted through the legs of keeper Petr Cech for an unlikely equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

Chelsea continued to pen their rivals back after the break and Ashley Cole fizzed an angled shot wide.

But Chelsea rarely looked like turning their dominance into a winner as Spurs defended in numbers and comfortably soaked up the Blues pressure.

Chelsea have been linked with Robinho and, on this evidence, need the creativity the Brazilian offers as they dropped their first points of the season.