Tottenham have suffered another league setback after being held to a 1-1 draw by Sunderland at White Hart Lane.
Despite their hot Champions League form, Spurs are struggling in sixth place on the Premier League table following the Black Cats' ability to hit back three minutes after Rafael van der Vaart put the home side in front.
The Dutchman continued his prolific record at the Lane, a venue he has scored every time he has stepped out for his new club, when he turned and fired in the 64th minute home after Peter Crouch's header from the backpost found him in the area.
But another fresh Premier League face, Asamoah Gyan, managed to equalize just three minutes later when he parted the seas of William Gallas and Younes Kaboul before slotting past Heurelho Gomes as Spurs failed to keep a clean sheet for the 11th league match in a row. It was the Ghanaian's third goal for the week following his double against Stoke City on Sunday and it allowed the Black Cats to move up to seventh on the table.
Tottenham Hotspur: 1 (Rafael van der Vaart 64') Sunderland: 1 (Asamoah Gyan 67')
Venue: White Hart Lane, North London Crowd: 35,843 Referee: Howard Webb Yellow cards:TH - David Bentley 52', Heurelho Gomes 89' SU - Lee Cattermole 70'
Starting Line-Ups
TH Heurelho Gomes (gk), Younes Kaboul, William Gallas, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Alan Hutton, Luka Modric, Tom Huddlestone, Gareth Bale, David Bentley, Roman Pavlyuchenko (Crouch 46'), Rafael van der Vaart
Subs - Carlo Cudicini (gk), Peter Crouch (46'), Jermaine Jenas, Niko Kranjcar, Sebastien Bassong, Vedran Corluka, Wilson Palacios
SU Craig Gordon (gk), Titus Bramble, Michael Turner, Anton Ferdinand (Bardsley 18'), Nedum Onuoha, Cristian Riveros (Welbeck 46'), Lee Cattermole, Kieran Richardson (Malbranque 86'), Boudewijn Zenden, Jordan Hednerson, Asamoah Gyan
Subs - Simon Mignolet (gk), Phillip Bardsley (18'), Danny Welbeck (46'), Stted Malbranque (86'), Marcos Angeleri, Paulo Da Silva, Ahmed Al Muhammadi
