LONDON, 12 March 2007 — Chelsea stormed back from two goals down to snatch a 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in an electrifying FA Cup quarterfinal at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
Goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Hossam Ghaly and an own goal by Michael Essien gave Tottenham a 3-1 halftime lead, as they looked set to end a 17-year wait for a win at Stamford Bridge.
However, Frank Lampard’s second goal of the match after 71 minutes gave Chelsea a lifeline and substitute Salomon Kalou volleyed the equalizer four minutes from time to set up a replay on March 19.
Blackburn Rovers were playing Manchester City and Watford faced second division Plymouth Argyle later.
Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 at home earlier this season for their first league victory over their London rivals since 1987 and they will be left wondering how they did not complete a remarkable double.
Chelsea, still missing key defender and skipper John Terry, never got to grips with their attacking trio of Berbatov, Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon but displayed trademark stubbornness to avoid a first domestic home defeat in open play under coach Jose Mourinho.
Berbatov put Tottenham ahead after five minutes, thrashing a shot into the top right corner after superb link-up play between Lennon and Defoe. Chelsea responded midway through the half when midfielder Lampard applied a poked finish to deflect Michael Ballack’s slashed shot across the goal. Essien gifted Tottenham the lead again after 28 minutes when he bundled a low Lennon cross past his keeper Petr Cech and when Ghaly steamed through a hesitant Chelsea defense to make it 3-1 after 36 minutes Tottenham looked set for the semifinals. Early in the second half, Lennon and Defoe both spurned chances in quick succession to put Spurs out of sight and the visitors were made to pay the price. Chelsea gambled on all-out attack and their pressure paid off when Lampard grabbed his second goal when Tottenham failed to deal with a high ball into the box. With just four minutes remaining Chelsea striker Didier Drogba won a header on the edge of the area and Kalou smashed a first-time volley past Spurs keeper Radek Cerny. Both sides went for the victory in a pulsating finale with first Defoe rattling the crossbar with a ferocious shot and then Andriy Shevchenko almost sealing it for the hosts.
Inter Fight Back to Win Milan
Derby; Lazio Defeat Reggina
In Rome, Serie A leaders Inter Milan fought back from a goal down to beat city rivals AC Milan 2-1 in a thrilling derby yesterday.
Ronaldo, who incurred the wrath of Inter fans for walking out on the club in 2002 after they had stuck by him during a lengthy injury crisis, gave AC Milan a first-half lead with a left-footed drive. The 30-year-old Brazil international, who joined AC Milan from Real Madrid earlier this year, was whistled and jeered every time he touched the ball.
The game turned in Inter’s favor early in the second half when Julio Cruz came on as a substitute for Hernan Crespo. The lanky Argentine forward netted Inter’s equalizer 11 seconds after coming on, and then set up the winner for Zlatan Ibrahimovic 15 minutes from time. Inter’s victory went some way to making up for their Champions League exit on Tuesday and extended their lead over second-placed Roma to a massive 19 points.
Inter have 73 points, followed by Roma on 54.
Lazio claimed their fifth consecutive win with a 3-2 victory at Reggina, which saw them join Palermo in third place on 46 points. Palermo were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Fiorentina.
Empoli’s push for a top-four finish was dealt a blow after they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Livorno.
The relegation scrap between Chievo and Messina ended in a 1-1 draw, as did the match between relegation-threatened Parma and Atalanta.
Ascoli claimed only their third win of the season with a 1-0 victory at Siena, while Torino pulled further away from the drop zone by defeating Catania 1-0.
AC Milan went close to taking the lead in the 22nd minute at the San Siro when Andrea Pirlo’s dipping shot was tipped over the bar by Julio Cesar.
Crespo’s curling shot bent inches past the post before his flicked header rolled agonizingly wide.
The momentum stayed with Inter with Luis Figo driving fractionally wide.
Totally against the run of play, AC Milan went ahead five minutes before half time.
Ehiogu Strikes to Hand
Rangers Victory at Celtic
In Glasgow, defender Ugo Ehiogu scored with an overhead kick as Rangers inflicted a first home league defeat since November 2005 on leaders Celtic with a 1-0 win yesterday.
Celtic still top the Premier League standings with 74 points from 30 games while Rangers are second on 58.
The home side dominated the first half of the Old Firm derby and were denied a penalty on 24 minutes when Ehiogu appeared to bring down Aiden McGeady, but Rangers soaked up the pressure and snatched a second half winner.
Ehiogu met David Weir’s knock down in the box and sent a spectacular scissors-kick goalwards, which beat Polish keeper Artur Boruc on 50 minutes.
