The Blues had to settle for a draw at home to Spurs after an entertaining fixture at Stamford Bridge.

It was end to end stuff for 90 minutes, though neither side could fashion the chances required to win the game, and so it was the points were shared after first half strikes from Juliano Belletti and Darren Bent.

The last time Tottenham won at our home was February 1990, and our north London rivals arrived at the Bridge this time after a poor start to the season, which had rendered them bottom of the Premier League going into the game.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was forced into one change from the side that ground out a narrow victory at Wigan last week, with Juliano Belletti replacing the injured Michael Ballack, slotting into the holding midfield role. Michael Essien was passed fit to play.

For the visitors, Juande Ramos brought in youngster Chris Gunter for Aaron Lennon, as Gareth Bale reverted to left-back.

There was a busy opening to the game, and it was Frank Lampard who nearly opened the scoring on five minutes. The midfielder sent a delicate chip towards goal that looked to have caught Heurelho Gomes off guard and off his line, but somehow the Brazilian backpedalled and acrobatically tipped the ball over.

At the other end Giovani dos Santos got into the area and cut back for Darren Bent, but his shot was deflected behind.

The spritely Mexican brought the game's first booking, fouled by former Barcelona team-mate Deco, and it looked as though the form book might have to be discarded.

Chelsea did have plenty of possession though, and Nicolas Anelka almost found the net after 20 minutes, reacting quickest when a corner dropped inside the area. He found the route to goal congested though, and Spurs were able to clear.

The Frenchman only had to wait another five minutes for his next chance, but he blasted wastefully over after Juliano Belletti had curled through a perfect pass. Chelsea's superiority was starting to show.

Within moments Michael Essien had crashed a 30-yard drive off the crossbar, and it seemed only a matter of time.

Sure enough, the Blues won a corner and Deco's swinging cross evaded everybody except Belletti, who swept home for his third Chelsea goal - his second against Spurs at the Bridge.

There then followed a quiet spell, with neither side fashioning any chances of note. Spurs huffed and puffed but didn't look like breaking through the traditionally impermeable Chelsea back line.

When they did, Petr Cech was on hand to clear up, running out of his area to chest the ball and calmly pass to Ricardo Carvalho. Spurs still hadn't registered a shot on target, so the Czech was likely pleased to be a part of the action.

Then from nowhere Spurs equalised .

Darren Bent knocked down to Luka Modric, who mis-controlled, allowing Lampard to get a foot in. His touch however only served to put Bent through on goal and he made no mistake, calmly slotting under Cech and into the empty net.

It was to be the last action of the first half, as the players trudged down the tunnel, heads shaking and questions asked as to how Spurs had managed to draw level.

The second half opened with a Chelsea chance. It fell to the wrong man though, as Ashley Cole fired just wide after the Blues midfield had carved open the visitors' defence.

Lampard was next to try his luck, again attempting a chip from the edge of the box. This time he misjudged, and the ball went narrowly over without the help of Gomes.

Ramos opted for changes, as Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon entered the action in quick succession. Jermaine Jenas moved back to right-back, while Gunter and Giovani were withdrawn.

Chances were still limited, and so Scolari made changes of his own, introducing Florent Malouda for Joe Cole, who had had a low-key game, and Salomon Kalou for Belletti, who had filled in well in midfield, and contributed the goal.

The gamble nearly paid off with 12 minutes remaining, when Anelka flicked on a Carvalho clearance.

Kalou raced on but misfired, dragging his shot left of the goal with only Gomes to beat. It was a let-off for Spurs who must now have been thinking they could take a point back to N17.

It looked like it could be more when Bale went forward, running direct at the Chelsea goal. Bosingwa was beaten and had little option but to bring the Welshman down, earning a yellow card for his clumsy tackle.

The last throw of the dice for Scolari was to hand a debut to Franco Di Santo, who had waited since January for a first team run out. Surprisingly, he replaced Anelka in a direct swap.

As the four minutes of injury time ticked away, Essien lined up from distance but unlike in the first half he sent his shot wayward, and a draw looked almost inevitable.

One more deep cross from Bosingwa was swallowed up by Gomes, and the belief that the 100 per cent start to the season would continue was all but gone.

A draw was, on reflection, probably a fair result, with neither side doing enough to warrant three points. Now there is an international break for questions to be asked and answered, before we travel to Manchester City on September 13.

By Andy Jones

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Belletti (Kalou 75); J Cole (Malouda 65), Essien, Lampard, Deco; Anelka (Di Santo 88).

Goals Belletti 26

Booked Deco 9, J Cole 44, Bosingwa 85

Tottenham (4-5-1): Gomes; Gunter (Huddlestone 62), Woodgate, King (c), Bale; Dos Santos (Lennon 58), Jenas, Zokora, Modric, Bentley (O' Hara 72); Bent.

Goals Bent 45