This was an old-fashioned, full-blooded classic, deserving a place in the annals of great London derbies, but that will be of little consolation to Avram Grant today as he reflects on two points lost. Leading 3-1 after 51 minutes with their fans chanting 'We want six' and Tottenham in some disarray, Chelsea were poised to secure the victory that would have put them and their beleaguered boss in the very thick of the Premier League title race.

Instead, indifferent defending and a wonderful late equaliser from Robbie Keane meant a thunderous, breathtaking clash ended 4-4.

The inescapable truth is that two dropped points is a savage blow to Chelsea's title hopes and with eight games left - Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday - Grant's men remain five points adrift of leaders Manchester United.

A win last night would have put Chelsea level on points with second-placed Arsenal but unusually poor defending almost guaranteed problems for them because Tottenham have scored more goals at home, 41, than any other team in the Premier League.

Until last night Chelsea's defensive performance in away matches was rivalled only by Liverpool but, in the space of minutes at White Hart Lane, that record was demolished.

"One of our strengths this season has been the way we have defended at corners and free kicks," said the Chelsea manager. "But in two games against us Spurs have scored five goals from set pieces."

Grant will be concerned at the sudden loss of confidence in a defence that had conceded only nine goals in away League matches before yesterday.

It says much for Tottenham's new resilience that they refused to allow Chelsea to dominate even though Didier Drogba headed them in front from John Terry's cross after three minutes.

Just 10 minutes later Jonathan Woodgate, who will have impressed watching England manager Fabio Capello, outjumped Drogba to reach a free kick from Jermaine Jenas and equalise with a towering header.

Michael Essien put Chelsea back in front with a chip shot over Paul Robinson and when Joe Cole scored from a tight angle early in the second half it looked as though Tottenham were being made to pay for their effrontery in beating Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final last month.

"At 3-1 it looked like it was going to be difficult for us," admitted Spurs manager Juande Ramos. "But my team believed in themselves and when we scored to make it 3-2 anything was possible.

"There have been similarly spectacular games this season - 4-4 with Aston Villa and 6-4 with Reading for instance. We pushed forward last night because we wanted to win and we nearly scored a fifth goal. I was very happy with the effort from my team."

Ashley Cole's reckless tackle on Alan Hutton threatened to lead to an escalation in tensions but the half-time whistle intervened.

The introduction of Tom Huddlestone from the substitute's bench gave Tottenham fresh impetus and their fans fresh heart.

It was Huddlestone's corner in the 61st minute that presented Dimitar Berbatov with a headed goal and when, in the 75th minute, Chelsea failed to clear Keane's corner, Huddlestone drove the ball beyond Carlo Cudicini to draw the score level at 3-3.

But it wasn't over. Four minutes later Pascal Chimbonda misjudged Drogba's low cross and Joe Cole nicked the ball from him, moved into space and lifted his shot into the roof of the net.

It looked as though Chelsea were about to extend their remarkable Premier League record against Spurs - 20 wins and ten draws from the previous 31 games - until the 88th minute when a long ball upfield struck Ricardo Carvalho on the back and fell kindly for Keane. Ever the opportunist, the Tottenham striker curled a wonderful shot from the edge of the area past Cudicini.

Then, deep into injury time, Chelsea were thankful for the agility of their goalkeeper as he palmed away a close range shot from Berbatov and secured a point - much to the Bulgarian's chagrin.