Dele Alli threw cold water on Chelsea's dream of making Premier League history with two perfectly timed headers during a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane.
The young England midfielder benefited from Christian Eriksen's accuracy to notch his ninth and tenth goal of the season and bring Chelsea's 13 match winning run to an end.
A win tonight for Antonio Conte's side would have seen them surpass Arsenal's record of 13 consecutive league wins, a feat they themselves achieved against Stoke City on New Year's Eve.
Alli's opener on the stroke of half-time was well worth waiting as both sides repeatedly spurned good chances in the opening half. The ball broke up the right hand side and cut back to Eriksen.
The Dane got his head up and picked out Dele Alli in the box with a pinpoint cross. Alli rose, unchallenged, and his arching header was out of reach of the outstretched Thibaut Courtois.
The game up to that point had actually been quite even. In terms of chances created, Chelsea and Tottenham both shared three shots apiece but neither could find the target.
Tottenham kept the Chelsea defence on their toes, good long range strikes from Eriksen and the tricky feet of Mousa Dembélé meant there was not a moment's rest for Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz or Gary Cahill.
The threat came more from midfield from both sides as lone strikers Harry Kane and Diego Costa were squeezed whenever they were in possession, making it difficult for them to pick up the ball in any pockets of space.
After the break, it was Chelsea who understandably started the brighter.
Hugo Lloris was forced into an early save from Diego Costa who began to brighten up during the second 45. Eden Hazard then had a chance to draw them level, but his header from six yards was just wide of the post.
Dele Alli scores his first goal of the evening. Image: David Klein Sportimage/PA Images
It was again the potent combination of Eriksen and Alli that broke Chelsea hearts. The striking thing about the goal was again how similar it was to the first.
Once again, Eriksen picked up the ball on the top right hand corner of the box. Anticipating the cross, Cahill stuck out a leg and allowed Eriksen an additional moment to find a pocket of space. He rolled the ball forward a couple of inches and swung in another pinpoint cross to the back post. Again, Alli was on hand to meet it and, again, he headed back across goal and into the net.
On this occasion, Courtois came to try and close down the danger along with Victor Moses. These efforts proved futile as Alli wheeled away in celebration in full view of the raucous home crowd.
Chelsea found it difficult to muster anything past this, a handful of half chances that caused Tottenham fans to sit up in their seats. But the Lane faithful felt the game was their's for the taking and sang until the final whistle.
The Spurs eventually came marching in and cut the gap on Chelsea to seven points. Conte's side retain a five point advantage over nearest rivals Liverpool but will have to pick themselves up again if they have aspirations of repeating their stellar run. They travel to the home of champions Leicester in two week's time.
No record, no goals and no clean sheet for Chelsea. A tough start to 2017 for the league leaders.
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