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Andre Villas-Boas is still looking for his first victory as Tottenham boss after a late Robert Snodgrass equaliser earned Norwich a deserved 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham's new signing Moussa Dembele had come off the bench to put Tottenham in front in the 68th minute with a fine goal but it was a rare bright spark in an otherwise limp performance from the hosts.

Indeed, Spurs needed Brad Friedel to be in top form between the sticks as he made a number of fine saves as Norwich boss Chris Hughton, who spent 28 years at Tottenham as a player and a coach, was rewarded with a gutsy display from his troops.

Snodgrass levelled in the 85th minute but there was still time for more disappointment for Spurs as substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent-off for showing his studs while going in for a 50-50 ball just before the end.

Tottenham had plenty of possession in the opening 45 minutes but looked devoid of ideas and imagination, and if anything the hosts were lucky to go in at half-time level.

Norwich were sitting back and looking to hit on the counter-attack but they had the two best chances in the opening period and if it wasn't for the exploits of Friedel on two separate occasions they would have taken the lead.

After just nine minutes the American keeper tipped Russell Martin's header onto the crossbar after the Tottenham defence failed to deal with a fine Snodgrass free-kick.

Then just two minutes from the break Snodgrass himself came close, again from a header, but Friedel somehow managed to shift position and make a super save from point blank range.

Tottenham on the other hand failed to create one clear cut chance in the opening 45 minutes, with a fizzing left foot shot from Gareth Bale on the half hour being their best effort, but while that shot had plenty of power, it was straight enough that John Ruddy was able to punch it away.

Villas-Boas reacted at the break by bringing on £15m new signing Dembele for Sandro and Tottenham had a brief promising spell just after the break with another summer signing Gylfi Sigurdsson catching a volley clean that had to be saved by Ruddy. Sigurdsson would be substituted for Emmanuel Adebayor soon after.

Despite the Tottenham changes though, Norwich once more settled into their counter-attacking style and continued to manufacture chances of their own.

Grant Holt headed a half chance over in the 51st minutes and then just after the hour, Friedel had to make another good save to push away a low Anthony Pilkington effort.

Spurs fans finally had something to cheer about in the 68th minute though when a moment of class from Dembele put them in front. The Belgian tricked Jonny Howson on the edge of the area with a lovely little drag back and then fired a low shot expertly into the net.

Tottenham might have hoped to kick on after that but again Norwich crept back into the game.

Huddlestone was brought on for Jermain Defoe to try and shut up shop but Norwich got their leveller five minute before the end as Martin and Holt won successive headers from a cross before the ball fell for the impressive Snodgrass to expertly dispatch a finish from just inside the box into the corner of the net.

Neither Clint Dempsey or Hugo Lloris were signed by Tottenham in time for this game but while they could have done with the former against the Canaries, their man between the sticks certainly wasn't the problem as Friedel had to make one last save in stoppage time after Holt's back-heel set up Bradley Johnson for a powerful shot on the edge of the area.

That late effort came when Tottenham were down to 10-men.

Whether the red card was merited is open to debate but what is undisputable is the fact that Norwich were full value for their point and that Villas-Boas will soon be under pressure if performances, and more importantly results, do not quickly improve.

Newcastle United got their 2012/13 Premier League campaign off to the right start at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur, who they beat 2-1 at the Sports Direct Arena.

After Jermain Defoe had cancelled out Demba Ba's opener, Hatem Ben Arfa scored a penalty he had won himself to gain some measure of revenge on the team who beat them 5-0 the last time they met.

Ba scored a sumptuous curling finish 10 minutes into the second half to register his first goal since February, only for Defoe to level with a quarter of an hour remaining. The visitors were only on terms for four minutes, however, before Ben Arfa put the Magpies back in front from the penalty spot after Rafael van der Vaart had tripped him in the area.

The win gave Newcastle their first victory on the first day of a top-flight campaign in five years, while Tottenham have now lost their last four opening-day fixtures which have been away from home.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was able to start with strike duo Papiss Cisse and Ba as well as French midfield pair Yohan Cabaye and Ben Arfa despite all four being injury doubts heading into the game. Fabricio Coloccini was missing through injury, but fellow centre-back Steven Taylor made his first appearance of 2012 after suffering from a long-term injury.

Tottenham head coach Andre Villas-Boas raised eyebrows with his first starting XI by leaving summer signing Jan Vertonghen on the bench, preferring to go with veteran centre-back William Gallas alongside Younes Kaboul. The club's other summer signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, did start however.

Tottenham finished one place and four points above Newcastle last season, although fourth place was not enough to secure Champions League football for the Londoners. It was Spurs who dictated much of the early tempo as the home side began with plenty of caution.

That is not a quality many would immediately bestow upon Magpies midfielder Cheick Tiote, however, and he drew great cheers from the home support for his typically crunching early tackle on Kyle Walker. It looked as though that challenge had caused the Newcastle man an injury, but the robust Ivorian played through it.

Despite plenty of enterprising play from Spurs, with Aaron Lennon looking particularly dangerous on the counter-attack, it was Newcastle who had the first chance. Papiss Cisse turned and shot from around 20 yards from goal, and his low strike deflected off the boot of strike partner Demba Ba's boot and trickled just wide, much to the relief of the helpless Brad Friedel.

Soon Spurs began to carve out the opportunities that their play warranted. Sigurdsson saw his curling free-kick tipped wide by Tim Krul after Danny Simpson was perhaps fortunate to not receive second yellow card for a foul on Gareth Bale.

Jermain Defoe got the better of Taylor but saw his low strike rebound off the foot of the near post. Bale was also denied by the frame of the goal when his header back across goal from Lennon's cross was over Krul but came back off the crossbar.

Newcastle began to take the game to their visitors after the break, but their opening goal still had the feel of being against the run of play when it came on 54 minutes. Kyle Walker's attempt at a headed clearance saw the ball drop at the feet of Ba, who took a touch before caressing a curling shot out of Friedel's reach and into the net. It was his first goal since he netted on Cisse's debut for the club against Aston Villa on February 5.

Soon afterwards Pardew was sent to the stands by referee Martin Atkinson after he had angrily shoved a linesman.

As the game wore on Spurs struggled to create as much as they had done before the break, and it was a scrappy goal which got them back on terms on 76 minutes. Gallas met Lennon's cross with a header that Krul saved with his legs, and the ball rebounded of the post before Defoe reacted quickest to bundle it home.

Just three-and-a-half minutes later, however, Newcastle were back in front. Ben Arfa's trickery saw him sneak in between Lennon and Van der Vaart and burst into the box, inviting the Dutchman to trip him over. After a discussion with Ba about who should take the spot-kick, Ben Arfa was vindicated in insisting he did by sending Friedel the wrong way.

Clearly deflated by that goal, Spurs were unable to muster much of a late assault on a share of the points, and Pardew saw his team close out the win from on high.

Manchester United came from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Chelsea in a pulsating Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.

Second-half strikes from Juan Mata and David Luiz added to a first-half own-goal by Jonny Evans to bring up a 3-0 scoreline that flattered the hosts somewhat.

But United raised their game and, spearheaded by Wayne Rooney – who netted two penalties – they drew level thanks to a late Javier Hernandez header.

David De Gea made an incredible late save to deny Mata’s wonderful free-kick, with the Spaniard tipping over a Gary Cahill effort at the death as the spoils were shared in West London.

The result means United are two points behind leaders Manchester City, while fourth-placed Chelsea edge a point ahead of Newcastle United, who beat Aston Villa earlier on Sunday.

Chelsea will be wondering how they failed to win the game given their position before United’s first penalty went in on 58 minutes.

Questions will again be asked of Andre Villas-Boas’s tactical acuity: Daniel Sturridge had been a livewire all match, forcing Evans’s own-goal and leading the line with confidence, while Torres – for all his hard work – looked lost once more, picking up a fourth booking since last February that means he has seen yellow more often than the back of the net for the Blues, although he did get a fine assist.

But when United pulled it back to 3-2 following a contentious penalty given when Danny Welbeck bought contact from Branislav Ivanovic, the Portuguese coach removed Sturridge and not Torres for Oriol Romeu.

Romeu has good positional sense, but he had a limited impact - possibly startled by the intensity of the occasion - while it is common knowledge that retreating into a defensive shell plays to Manchester United's strengths of relentless attack from all angles.

John Terry was missing for Chelsea with fellow defender Ashley Cole also absent; United, meanwhile, welcomed back Rooney and Ashley Young from injury, although Nani failed to make the squad.

A tense first half saw United make most of the running, while Chelsea got the lucky breaks – including one that Reds fans will insist cancels out their questionable penalty.

Referee Howard Webb failed to penalise a clear foul from Cahill, which started outside the area but left Welbeck in a heap when he was through on goal. Had it been given, Chelsea would most likely have gone down to 10 men at an early stage.

The Blues’ second slice of fortune resulted in them taking the lead: Sturridge did well to beat a sluggish Patrice Evra to the by-line, but his low cross flew past De Gea and in off the chest of a helpless Evans.

Chelsea went close to an immediate second when Sturridge forced a smart stop from De Gea, so United cranked up the pressure, creating chances through Young, Welbeck and Rooney – Petr Cech making fine saves to deny all three.

The second half seemed to be set for a United comeback but, practically from the restart, Chelsea doubled their lead with a wonderful goal.

Torres was in acres of space down the right with Evra again missing. The goal-shy striker floated over a delightful cross that landed to his diminutive Spain team-mate Mata: in a flash, and with marvellous technique, the former Valencia playmaker hammered an incredible volley that flew past De Gea into the roof of the net.

It was some goal and within three minutes it was 3-0, although a combination of poor defending and yet more luck saw Luiz meet Mata’s free-kick with a header, allowed to do so by poor marking and helped past De Gea by the shoulder of Rio Ferdinand.

Sir Alex Ferguson responded by introducing Hernandez, but the Mexican super-sub was not involved as Evra went some way to compensating for his defensive frailties by bounding into the box to draw a clumsy challenge from Sturridge.

It was a penalty and Rooney responded with a clean finish into the roof of the net, bringing it back to 3-1.

While that decision was clear, United’s second spot-kick was dubious to say the least: in an almost-identical incident to that which saw Manchester City’s Adam Johnson win a penalty off Fulham’s Chris Baird on Saturday, Welbeck hung a leg out to draw contact off Serb defender Ivanovic.

It was gamesmanship by Welbeck and Webb – perhaps with his earlier mistake in mind – pointed to the spot, Ivanovic’s righteous disbelief mimicking that of Baird’s at Eastlands. Rooney was not put off though, coolly slotting the penalty one way and sending Cech the other, and it was game on.

The England striker was at the heart of everything, taking the game to Chelsea and ably supported by marauding wide-man Antonio Valencia, who had been put to right-back following Paul Scholes’s entrance but was playing more like Cafu than Gary Neville.

As United piled forward, Chelsea were still creating chances – De Gea making a decent stop from Michael Essien’s long-range hammer, and Torres delaying his shot enough for Valencia to block after the misfiring Spaniard played himself past Evans with a clever header.

But the script insisted United should complete the miraculous comeback, and they did so in some style as – after another bounding run and cross from Valencia – Rooney drew a fine stop from Cech: Ryan Giggs picked it up wide left and, as he has done for what seems like an eternity, the old man of the Premier League curled a wonderful cross that Hernandez was destined to meet with a headed goal.

There was still time for some late drama as De Gea went some way to compensating for errors in previous matches with a miracle stop from Mata’s curling free-kick, showing incredibly agility and speed to pluck the ball from the top right.

The former Atletico Madrid man was called into action again when, in the fourth minute of injury time, a trademark Cahill piledriver was tipped over for a corner.

United were not to be undone, holding out for the draw, and – while they remain behind City – they are still very much in the hunt for the title.

Chelsea, meanwhile, continue to look over their shoulders at Newcastle and Arsenal as the threat of finishing outside the top four looms.

Premier League leaders Manchester City surrendered their unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge as Frank Lampard came off the bench to score a late penalty and secure a 2-1 win for Chelsea.

City, without so much as a goal in eight of their past nine trips to this corner of West London, started in spectacular fashion when Mario Balotelli rounded Petr Cech to put Roberto Mancini's side into the lead.

Inside 15 minutes they should have had the chance to make it 2-0 but Jose Boswinga's trip on David Silva in the penalty area went unpunished by Mark Clattenburg. Having enjoyed some good fortune, Chelsea then set about securing a third consecutive win in all competitions through their own perspiration.

Raul Meireles drew his side level with a fine volleyed finish after 34 minutes and the under scrutiny Andre Villas-Boas was given further reason to celebrate when Gael Clichy was shown a second yellow card and dismissed on 58 minutes.

As City removed Silva for Nigel de Jong in a bid to cling on for a point, it was Chelsea who snatched a winner when Joleon Lescott was penalised for handball and substitute Lampard struck the winner from 12 yards.

The victory sees Chelsea move into third place above Arsenal and Tottenham and seven points behind leaders City, who have seen their lead over Manchester United cut to two.

Even if Villas-Boas had attracted intense scrutiny on himself with his complaints about Alan Pardew, Gary Neville and the media's treatment of his club in recent days, back-to-back 3-0 wins over Newcastle United and Valencia had somewhat dispelled concerns about the porous nature of his defence.

Implementing a deeper defensive line helped to address Chelsea's vulnerability but at Stamford Bridge they were opened up within two minutes by a City side that had made the best ever start to a Premier League season by dropping only four points in their opening 14 games.

Sergio Aguero created the opening as he did superbly well to hold on to the ball on the right wing before slipping a magnificent pass into Balotelli. The Italian accelerated away from the inattentive Branislav Ivanovic, took a touch around Cech and rolled the ball home before indulging in an typically arrogant celebration after claiming his eighth goal in his last 10 appearances in the league.

City were enthused by the excellent start and dominated Chelsea with their superior short passing. On one break Aguero showed good strength to hold off Bosingwa, duck inside Ashley Cole and fire a ferocious shot just wide of the post.

Chelsea found themselves under intense pressure and were very fortunate not to concede a penalty after 15 minutes. Balotelli shifted a square pass to David Silva and the Spaniard let the ball roll across his body before being caught by Bosingwa and going to ground. Referee Clattenburg told Silva to get to his feet but also neglected to show a yellow card, presumably indicating he believed some contact was made.

Having been so close to going 2-0 down at home, Chelsea responded and, after Drogba had seen one low effort tipped round the post by Joe Hart, the Blues levelled the scores.

Terry found Daniel Sturridge with a glorious long pass to the right and after taking control the former City trainee jinked one way and then the other to lose Clichy, before dinking in a cross that found Meireles. The Portuguese midfielder volleyed home firmly from eight yards.

Meireles pushed his luck when being booked for a horrible challenge on Pablo Zabaleta and then colliding with Yaya Toure, while the City midfielder had his own on-running and petty battle with Juan Mata as he kicked and then slapped the Spaniard. However, it remained level, and 11-a-side, heading into the break.

Numerical equality was surrendered on 58 minutes though when Clichy was shown his first career red card in 198 Premier League games. Having brought down Sturridge with a clumsy challenge at the start of the second half, he then stuck out a leg to bring down Ramires in full flight and was rightly ordered off the pitch by Clattenburg.

City were suddenly looking ragged, with Vincent Kompany risking a second booking with a clumsy challenge on the increasingly sprightly Mata, and Toure again escaping punishment when attempting to rake his boot down the back of Ramires's leg.

Chelsea enjoyed the greater weight of chances, no more so than when Sturridge expertly chested down a free-kick from the right before thumping his effort over the bar. As the match progressed, Kompany and Lescott were being called upon to repel a constant barrage of crosses.

Mancini responded to Chelsea's pressure by removing the refined talent of Silva and introducing the rather more unreconstructed De Jong in an effort to protect a point, and with it their unbeaten record in the Premier League.

However, the change backfired and on 82 minutes Chelsea were awarded a penalty when Lescott was adjudged to have handled from a Sturridge shot. There appeared to be little intent on the part of the City defender but equally he had the intent to needlessly raise his arms in the box.

Lampard, ushered on as a substitute, hammered the ball down the middle of the goal from 12 yards to spark frenzied celebrations amongst the home players.

City responded by introducing Edin Dzeko for Lescott with four minutes remaining but Mancini could not reverse the tide as his side suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season and left the title race ever so slightly more open.

A match full to the brim of incident at St James' Park ended in a 3-0 victory for Chelsea over Newcastle in the Premier League, but goals from Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge told only a fraction of the story.

Chelsea, looking to ease the pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas after a run of three defeats in four games in all competitions, should have been reduced to ten men after only five minutes when David Luiz somehow escaped with only a booking after fouling Demba Ba when through on goal.

Frank Lampard then saw a penalty saved by Tim Krul, who was magnificent throughout in the Newcastle goal, but Didier Drogba headed Chelsea in front after 38 minutes when exploiting some slack defending.

In a match that saw the woodwork rattled on five separate occasions, three times by Newcastle, Chelsea had to wait until the 89th minute to finally condemn the Magpies to their first home defeat of the season when Salomon Kalou, on as a substitute, slotted the ball home.

There was still time for Daniel Sturridge to score deep into injury time as he finally beat Krul after being denied time and again by the Dutchman, and the upshot of a wonderfully entertaining contest is that Chelsea go two points ahead of Newcastle and into fourth place.

After an emotional tribute was paid to former Wales manager Gary Speed that left his great friend and Newcastle's assistant boss John Carver in floods of tears, those present at St James' Park, or Sports Direct Arena as Mike Ashley has renamed it, were treated to an absorbing contest.

Indeed, a moment of huge controversy ensued after only five minutes. Yohan Cabaye played in Ba with an expert through-ball and the striker was bundled to ground by the error-prone Luiz. It appeared a certain case of denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, but having given the free-kick, referee Mike Dean mystifyingly only produced a yellow card.

Luiz was incredibly fortunate not to be dismissed but proved an ongoing liability just minutes later when attempting to nutmeg Ba 25 yards from his own goal and being muscled off the ball. Luckily for the Brazilian, John Terry produced a block to deny Cabaye. The blunders were particularly poorly-timed, coming on the day Chelsea put centre-back Alex on the transfer list.

Having survived two difficult moments courtesy of Luiz, Chelsea soon reversed the momentum of the tie by exploiting a glaring vulnerability in the Newcastle side: namely the left side of Peter Lovenkrands and Ryan Taylor.

Sturridge tormented Newcastle, and Taylor in particular, every time he took possession and on 13 minutes won a penalty when cutting in from the right and drawing a foul from Cabaye. Lampard, making his 500th career start for Chelsea, saw his poorly-taken effort tipped onto the post by Krul.

The Dutchman was excelling in the Newcastle goal, as he has done all season, and on 16 minutes got a touch to a rasping effort from Sturridge to turn the ball onto the post as Chelsea were denied once again.

Sturridge was in electric form, shooting just wide from 20 yards before collecting a sumptuous through-ball from Juan Mata after 22 minutes and being denied once again by a save by Krul. The forward then produced a series of stopovers to dazzle Fabricio Coloccini before driving an effort wide, and later produced yet another stunning stop from Krul as he collected a pass from Lampard and fired in a low shot.

Ba was Newcastle's most evident threat and on 24 minutes he produced an unconventional backheeled flick from a Cabaye cross to force Petr Cech into a fine reaction stop. When Ba did beat Cech with a header from another delivery from Cabaye, this time the post denied the Newcastle striker before Terry almost hammered the ball off Luiz and into his own net.

In a breathless, frantic encounter, Newcastle were given pause for thought just before the half-hour mark when Coloccini was forced off due to a thigh problem. Newcastle have used the same back five for all 13 of their league games this season and the introduction of James Perch proved critical as he was culpable for Chelsea's opening goal.

Newcastle were angered that Chelsea were awarded a throw high up the pitch and after Ashley Cole chucked the ball to Mata, who spun and flicked a nice cross into the box, Drogba lost Perch to direct a header into the top corner and out of the reach even of Krul.

Though Newcastle started the second half brightly, they almost conceded a second after 53 minutes when Drogba again proved a menace. This time the Ivorian peeled off Simpson at the far post to chest down a cross from Branislav Ivanovic but thumped his subsequent volley wide of the post when he should have scored.

Still the chances flowed in a fantastic encounter. And on 53 minutes both sides could have scored in a 15-second spell that encapsulated the match as a whole.

First Drogba got a clearing header all wrong from a Cabaye corner and thumped the ball against his own bar. Then Mata sprung a quick-counter attack with a ball out to Sturridge, who hared forwards before playing in Ramires. The Brazilian found himself clear on goal but was denied by a fine save from Krul as the Dutchman got just enough to the low shot to turn it behind.

Though Sturridge was no longer the force of nature he was in the first half, he still picked a glorious pass through the legs of Perch on 72 minutes to release Mata, who stabbed his shot wide of the post from ten yards out. Newcastle responded by going up the other end and seeing substitute Sammy Ameobi have a shot cleared off the line by Terry after brother Shola had put Cech under pressure in the air.

The two Ameobis were in the hunt again on 81 minutes. Shola pulled down a ball over the top and with Luiz standing off, the striker unleashed a fearsome effort that struck the bar from 20 yards. Sammy followed up with a low effort that Cech saved.

Krul made yet another fantastic save to deny Sturridge but on 89 minutes he was beaten for a second time. Torres raced through on goal, only to be caught by Perch, and after sliding a pass to substitute Kalou saw his team-mate slot the ball home.

Having made three substitutions, Newcastle were reduced to ten men when Taylor joined centre-back partner Coloccini in the treatment room in injury time. The home side's numerical inferiority was exploited in injury time when Sturridge converted his eight chance of the match, checking inside Sammy Ameobi before placing his effort into the far corner.