adminBridge. Spurs are a point behind fourth-placed Arsenal with two games left and Villas-Boas admitted a place in the top four is out of Tottenham’s hands, despite their spirited recovery.
The Tottenham chief, returning to Chelsea for the first time since he was fired as their manager last March, said: “Hopefully there’ll be a slip-up because it’s unpredictable.
“Arsenal have had all this time to rest and it won’t be easy for Wigan to play (next Wednesday so early after an FA Cup final. Chelsea have a difficult game at Villa, we have an extremely difficult game at Stoke. Anything can happen if we can take this into those games.
“Our objective was to get into the Champions League and do better than the year before. The focus is there.
“All these teams competing for these positions are teams that missed their main objective and that is to win the title.”
It was still a better point for Chelsea than Tottenham Hotspur. It is Chelsea who are a win away from Champions League qualification, Tottenham who are pegged outside that all-important top four, their game in hand on Arsenal now gone.
So why didn’t it feel that way?
Why did this feel like a blow for Chelsea, and a point taken, and proven, for their former manager Villas-Boas? Perhaps because, at 2-1 up, Chelsea should have ruthlessly put Tottenham away. They had the chance, they had the chances.
They were far the superior team. And then they let it slip.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s late equaliser earned Tottenham a point at Chelsea, but Spurs missed the chance to climb into the Premier League’s top four.
Goals from Oscar and Ramires, either side of Emmanuel Adebayor’s finish, looked like they would seal a Champions League spot for Rafael Benitez’s side.
But Sigurdsson’s strike 10 minutes from the end lifted fifth-placed Spurs to within a point of Arsenal in fourth.
Chelsea remain third and are two points clear of the Gunners. — AFP.
Online Reporter