Just when Chelsea might have thought that their luck had turned, Carlo Ancelotti's team suffered another body blow. Having pitched up at White Hart Lane on their worst run of Premier League form in more than a decade and with Ancelotti admitting that the club were in the grip of crisis, the last thing that they needed was to concede a soft goal to Roman Pavlyuchenko and give themselves yet another mountain to climb.
Yet fortune smiled on them when Didier Drogba, on as a second-half substitute, muscled his way through to shoot and, to his delight, he watched the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes allow the ball to slip through his fingers and into the net.
It was little more than Chelsea had deserved for a spirited display and it looked as if they would leave north London with all three points and a reinvigoration of their title defence when the referee, Mike Dean, ruled in injury-time that Gomes had barged over Ramires inside the six-yard box as the pair chased a flick from Drogba.
Frank Lampard had come on as a substitute for his first competitive action since August but it was Drogba who seized the responsibility from the spot. His kick, however, was tentative and too close to Gomes, who completed a quick-fire transformation from villain to hero with the save.
Given the recent turmoil at Stamford Bridge, though, this still felt like a point gained. John Terry, who turned in a commanding performance at the back, beat his chest in front of the visiting fans and he, like everybody connected to the club, had to hope that this could serve as a touchstone.
You could not take your eyes off this one for a second. With all of the sub-plots and significance, it was absorbing. The game had opened in high-octane fashion, with both teams eager to play slick one-touch football and Chelsea, despite all of their problems, looking the better team in the early moments.
With three versus two in central areas, and Paulo Ferreira tight to Gareth Bale, with support from Ramires, Chelsea sought to establish a foothold and dictate possession. Michael Essien saw plenty of the ball and he tried his luck from distance while Nicolas Anelka had one or two sniffs in front of goal.
But the game turned sharply when Tottenham made capital from their first forward thrust and, in the process, highlighted the vulnerability within Chelsea ranks. Jermain Defoe ran the inside left channel onto a long ball, narrowly dodging an offside flag and, when he checked inside, Branislav Ivanovic allowed him to saunter along before zipping a low pass into Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Ivanovic's sloppiness was mirrored by his team-mates inside the area. Terry was yards away from Pavlyuchenko while John Mikel Obi could not make a challenge. Pavlyuchenko's finish was low and lethal. Chelsea had it all to do.
The match thundered along, with some of the tackling shuddering bones. Essien seemed to stamp on Bale – for one horrible moment, it looked as if the Wales winger was seriously injured – while Terry and Alan Hutton enjoyed putting down their own markers. Hutton's challenge on Ramires had most people inside the stadium instinctively lifting their feet off the floor.
One of the features of the half was Terry's stepping up out of defence with the ball and initiating counter-attacks. The captain drove forward into the Tottenham area on more than one occasion. Perhaps, he had recognised how isolated Anelka looked and wanted to do something about it himself. For Chelsea, it was encouraging to see Terry grabbing the match by the scruff of the neck.
Chelsea would have been level at the interval had Salomon Kalou converted one of the hat-trick of headed opportunities that were created for him. The first, on 25 minutes, was arguably the best. Gomes was required to save. Anelka also had the ball in the net only to be pulled back, correctly, for offside.
Ancelotti's decision to name Drogba as a substitute raised eyebrows although, given the Ivorian's recent form, not too many. He introduced him at the beginning of the second-half, up alongside Anelka, as he attempted to force the issue, with Kalou and Florent Malouda tucking in from the flanks.
Tottenham's defence is not known for its robustness and this was the acid test of it. They had even been stripped of William Gallas, who damaged a hamstring in training on Friday, but Michael Dawson's return was a tonic.
The central defender had not played since he tore ligaments on England duty against Bulgaria on 3 September and his seamless readaptation was remarkable. Sébastien Bassong also emerged with honours.
Chelsea were on the front foot for much of the second-half. Tottenham had their moments, with Defoe and Luka Modric going close with snap-shots immediately after the restart and Pavlyuchenko flickering but the Chelsea pressure built.
Drogba forced Gomes into a smart save while the goalkeeper needed to be alert to tip over a misdirected header from Wilson Palacios.
The drama, though, was still to come.
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