Chelsea survive a goalkeeping scare against Spurs

Xabi Alonso's side sit fourth in the Premier League, 13 points from seven games, and a draw against a Tottenham side building momentum under their own set-piece specialism was never going to feel like two points dropped. It will, however, feel like a game Chelsea were fortunate to escape with a clean sheet intact.

Tottenham's work from corners and free-kicks was the story of the afternoon long before the 76th minute. Spurs' set-piece routines, overseen by coach Austin MacPhee, kept finding space around Chelsea's zonal markers, with near-post flick-ons and blockers pulling the home defence out of shape repeatedly in the second half.

The moment that nearly broke Chelsea

The game's defining passage came in the 76th minute, when Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders misjudged his positioning dealing with a routine from one of Tottenham's corners. The error briefly dragged Chelsea's own defensive shape out of sync, turning what had been a controlled, low-event afternoon into a genuine scramble inside the box. Spurs could not force the ball over the line, but the sequence summed up the afternoon: Chelsea structured and patient, Tottenham a mistake away from breaking through.

Alonso's side have conceded sparingly this season, sitting on a plus-four goal difference through seven league games, and that underlying discipline is what held here. Stamford Bridge did not get the nervy finish the 76th minute threatened, and Chelsea's back line reset quickly enough to see out the remaining minutes without another alarm of that scale.

A result that suits the league table more than the eye test

For Tottenham, the set-piece dominance without a goal to show for it will sting more than the result itself. For Chelsea, a point against a direct top-half rival keeps the early-season platform intact, even if the method, surviving rather than controlling, won't have Alonso entirely satisfied watching it back.

Both sides leave Stamford Bridge with the draw they can each argue suits their trajectory, Chelsea protecting a top-four foothold, Spurs taking the attacking data as proof their dead-ball work is close to paying off properly.