CHELSEA’S draw at Tottenham on Sunday left the Premier League champions 15 points behind leader Manchester City and still without back-to-back wins in the team’s title defense.

    But the Blues were facing a Tottenham side that extended its unbeaten run in the league to 14 matches — the best since the 1984-85 season — and sits 10 points ahead of Chelsea in fifth place.

    What the trip to White Hart Lane showed to Jose Mourinho is that his team is gradually rediscovering its spirit and defensive solidity with a third consecutive clean sheet, including the mid-week Champions League win against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

    “It’s the best Chelsea (performance) of the season as a team,” Mourinho said. “We deserved a bit more than we’ve got. I’m really happy with the performance. The team defended like a team ... against a team that presses really well and aggressively.”

    Chelsea, though, is still closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places in 14th. But there are 13 matches gone and another 25 to go.

    “I think we have the team again and we look to the future with a better spirit,” Mourinho said.

    Although Diego Costa ended Chelsea’s three-match losing run in the league with the only goal last weekend against Norwich, the striker was dropped because Mourinho believes “things are not going really well for his confidence.” Such was Costa’s frustration at not even coming off the bench that in the final moments of the game he threw his substitutes’ bib over his shoulder in the direction of Mourinho.

    “If he wants to hurt me, it’s not with a bib,” Mourinho said. “I have a good relationship with him, no problems.”

    Instead it was the diminutive Eden Hazard who was deployed as a false nine despite having not scored a goal all season for Chelsea. Though dynamic across the field, it took Hazard until the 68th minute to register his team’s first — and only — shot on target when his volley was kept out by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ diving one-handed save.

    (SD-Agencies)