Tottenham 1 Chelsea 2:If the first meeting had been enthrallingly spectacular, the replay of this FA Cup quarter-final intrigued with its element of surprise.
No one could have anticipated the finish with which Andriy Shevchenko opened the scoring or the volley from Shaun WrightPhillips that doubled Chelsea's lead.
The vigorous riposte from Spurs was unexpected, too, against rivals as steely as this.
Robbie Keane converted a penalty in the 78th minute after Ricardo Carvalho had brought down Dimitar Berbatov. After that, there was nothing more to startle the crowd and Chelsea move on to semi-final meeting with Blackburn. The pride in the solidity shown here will be deep.
The match began as if the quota of goals for the tie had been exhausted at Stamford Bridge. While the attacking intention had barely dipped at all the moves lacked the significant conclusion seen in the 3-3 draw.
Chelsea were determined to repair their reputation for obduracy and the return of John Terry was bound to be of major assistance. Nonetheless, the visitors could not feel completely secure.
Claude Makelele had been rested and Michael Essien, an alternative for the holding position, was injured.
Instead, Mikel John Obi occupied the role. As a relative novice his introduction appeared to promise much for Aaron Lennon, who had devastated Chelsea in that area during the initial meeting, but the winger was relatively muted here.
This was more like the FA Cup contest that had been anticipated in the first place. Chelsea had been beaten at White Hart Lane in the Premiership four months ago, a loss that hinted at troubles to come for a club aiming to retain the title, and as a byproduct there must have been a heightened respect for Martin Jol's team.
At the outset Tottenham's attacks were hearty, but there was generally an obstacle in the way.
With five minutes gone a typically artful backflick by Dimitar Berbatov set up Robbie Keane, only for his shot to be deflected behind.
Openings were rare and when Michael Dawson was left in space to climb freely for a Jermaine Jenas free-kick after 22 minutes the header sailed high.
The encouragement for the home side came in the fact that Chelsea themselves had even less to offer. Michael Ballack was aiming to keep in close contact with the two forwards and Shaun Wright-Phillips, preferred to Arjen Robben, was a managerial gesture towards the need for flair, yet there was little to concern the Spurs goalkeeper, Paul Robinson.
Tottenham strove to set the tone for the second half and for a spell there was a surge of verve and Jermaine Jenas subjected Ashley Cole to an indignity, tucking the ball round one side of the England left back and running past him on the other.
Chelsea's virtuosity was to have a far more profound impact. With 55 minutes gone, Shevchenko cut inside Steed Malbranque and, from the fringe of the area on the right, angled a superb drive across and past a helpless Robinson.
The chants of visiting fans were soon to reach an even lustier volume.
In the 61st minute a long ball was chested deftly to his left by Drogba and Wright-Phillips capitalised with a fierce left-footed volley.
Now active on so many fronts, fatigue might have been feared in Chelsea's ranks, but the sense was of several ambitions gradually being fulfilled, until Keane's penalty temporarily revived the tie.
After the game a fan had to be carried off the pitch after appearing to confront England midfielder Frank Lampard as he celebrated.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Chimbonda, Young-Pyo Lee, Dawson, Rocha (Stalteri 84), Lennon, Zokora, Jenas, Malbranque (Defoe 64), Berbatov, Keane. Booked: Chimbonda.
CHELSEA: Cech, Diarra (Ferreira 90), Ashley Cole, Carvalho, Terry, Wright-Phillips (Kalou 86), Lampard, Ballack, Mikel, Shevchenko (Robben 81), Drogba. Booked: Diarra, Drogba, Cech.
Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
