Spurs equaliser was offside – Benitez

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Rafael Benitez suggested Tottenham’s second goal in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge should not have stood, but also admitted his side were punished for their poor defending.

Chelsea were 1-0 up before allowing Emmanuel Adebayor too much room in the build-up to the striker’s excellent equaliser.

And Adebayor looked to be in an offside position when involved in the late goal by Gylfi Sigurdsson that denied the home team a victory that would have effectively sealed their Champions League place.

Chelsea tired in the closing stages.
Chelsea tired in the closing stages.

Interim manager Benitez said: “We had the chance. Twice we had the advantage and could have killed the game.

“We didn’t do it and then we gave the ball away and Tottenham were pushing. We had to control the second half much better.

“Their second goal was offside but still we had to defend better. We were too open and they were pushing and attacking.”

Meanwhile, Spurs’ former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas praised the performance of his side, who are still in the race for a top-four finish.

Villas-Boas said: “I’m extremely happy how the boys played in the second half. We showed the character that has united us during the season.

“We have to do our job and hope that somebody else slips up. The Premier League is absolutely unpredictable and hopefully it can fall our way.”

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