drama
Petr Cech made his surprise return to action in goal for Chelsea's development squad in an eventful London derby against Tottenham on Monday - making an error which led to a goal inside the first three minutes.
The Blues' technical director, 38, was playing for the first time since featuring for Arsenal against his current employers in the 2019 Europa League final, after which he hung up his boots.
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Cech, who won 13 major honours at Stamford Bridge before joining the Gunners in 2015, was only registered in Chelsea’s Premier League squad as a precaution in case of a coronavirus-related emergency.
The former Czech Republic goalkeeper was selected for Monday evening's Premier League 2 clash after Lucas Bergstrom played for Chelsea’s Under-18s on Saturday, with coaching staff not keen on the idea of the youngster playing twice in the space of 48 hours.
Cech might have been wishing he never agreed to come out of retirement when Spurs took an early lead though, which resulted from his own unforced error.
After playing a simple pass straight out behind him for a corner, the visitors took full advantage as Brooklyn Lyons-Foster headed the ball into the path of Jubril Okedina who slotted home from close range.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Harvey White's glorious ball over the top was met with a bullet header by Dane Scarlett giving Cech no chance as Tottenham doubled their lead on 17 minutes.
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To Chelsea's credit they came out much improved after the break, and pulled a goal back through Myles Peart-Harris on the hour mark.
The attacking midfielder cooly slotted home from the penalty spot after skipper Okedina brought down George Nunn.
Two minutes later and Chelsea were level, with Valentino Livramento's brilliant work down the right rewarded after a smart finish by Marcel Lewis.
With both sides searching for an all-important winner, a former Premier League winner sparked a mass brawl in the final 15 minutes.
Danny Drinkwater's spectacular fall from grace has been well documented and he would have done himself no favours in terms of reviving his career after this latest incident.
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Drinkwater, a £35million signing from Leicester in 2017, was brought down by Spurs' Alfie Devine, who was also shown a red for his poorly timed challenge, before petulantly kicking out at the teenager in retaliation.
The midfielder's hot-headed reaction saw a huge melee unfold on the pitch at Kingsmeadow, with Cech ironically acting as the peacemaker.
Henry Lawrence's stunning long-range effort whistled just past the post as Chelsea continued their dominance late on, before Peart-Harris secured all three points with two minutes remaining after producing a perfectly placed effort into the far corner following great work from Lewis.
It was a mixed night for Cech, but after all the drama which unravelled it will surely only whet his appetite further to get back on the hallowed turf for his beloved Blues at least one more time.
Cech admitted after the match that it felt 'so strange' to be back playing again following an 18-month break.
Accompanied with a montage of photos of him in action, Cech said: "565 days after what I thought was my last game in professional football I had the opportunity to be back on the pitch.
"It felt so strange for the first 20 minutes as my 'match system' I used to have while playing regularly was missing.
"But as the game went on the feeling returned, the 'match system' reappeared and it was great to have that special feeling again.
"Well done to my teammates for turning the game round! It was great to get the win and 3 important points to go top of the league!"