Introducing the biggest derby in English football over the next decade

This was meant to be the day when title favourites Chelsea set a new record of 14 Premier League wins in a row.

Instead it turned out to be the night when Tottenham put the record straight – and moved themselves and the North-West London derby into new territory.

Whisper it in Manchester, Liverpool and especially at the Emirates but this fixture has the potential to be THE derby of the next decade.

Two clubs with ambition, with a vision for the future and with young managers who could be in place for many years.

Mauricio Pochettino is only 44 years old and has already turned down the temptations of the Argentina national job to stay with a project that could really step up a gear in 2018-19 when Tottenham’s new 60,000-seater stadium is unveiled.

Antonio Conte, meanwhile, is 47 and has made such an impact in such a short period of time at Stamford Bridge that there is already talk of a long-term legacy to match the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Technical director Michael Emenalo told London’s Evening Standard on the morning of this game: “Everyone can see he is doing an absolutely sensational job, so I am not surprised that the fans and everybody loves him. We love him too. Personally, I think there’s an opportunity for him to stay forever.”

On this occasion, however, and for the first time in 14 games, the Italian was second best — downed by the sheer intensity of the occasion, by Tottenham’s passion for revenge, by Pochettino’s tactics and by the brilliance of Dele Alli who scored both goals.

The rivalry, it has to be said, has been steadily building for 50 years and although Chelsea once enjoyed a remarkable 16-year hoodoo over their rivals from 1990 onwards (when they didn’t lose a single league game against them home or away) recent fixtures have been far closer and far tastier.

Last season’s infamous match at the Bridge in which Chelsea ended Tottenham’s title hopes by coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in a brutal game that featured 12 yellow cards (nine of them to Spurs) and two mass brawls, was the benchmark.

Mousa Dembele received a retrospective ban for gouging Diego Costa’s eye that day while Chelsea were fined £375,000 (€440,000)and Spurs £225,000 (€264,400) respectively for failing to control their players.

No wonder there was a real edge to this match, with a real sense of anticipation in the stands.

Not just because of the history, either, but because these two teams are probably the best two in the league (or certainly two of the best three).

Two clubs with ambition, great management, high quality players and (unless we see another meltdown from Roman Abramovich in west London or Daniel Levy fails to resist Real Madrid’s overtures for Alli in the north) tangible stability for the foreseeable future.

Only Liverpool can make a similar claim because Jose Mourinho rarely lasts more than two years anywhere and Pep Guardiola has already ruled out a long stay at City. So although the derbies in the North West will always retain glamour, Tottenham-Chelsea has potential to be a long-term battle for silverware.

In terms of quality the game didn’t quite live up to the hype — the intensity of the tackling and the pace of the closing-down made that pretty impossible; but as an occasion it fizzed like a proper derby.

Danny Rose once admitted Tottenham’s players were in tears after the game at Stamford Bridge last year, something Chelsea fans were keen to remind him of, but there was a steely determination in north London that things would be different this time — and they were.

Spurs had already lost again at the Bridge this season, going down 2-1 in their first defeat of the campaign, but they couldn’t have given more to put that right in this return leg.

At times it was full-blooded, at times it was intense (so much so that Diego Costa was even rowing with his own team-mate Pedro) but it felt like a match that mattered, a match that could have a major influence on the season. And that may prove to be the case.

Two headers from Alli, both superbly finished against Chelsea’s previously impenetrable five-man defence, were the difference on a day when he outshone Costa and Eden Hazard to set up a landmark result that could have wide-ranging consequences.

It will be greeted with delight at Anfield and the Emirates of course. But most importantly it moves Tottenham firmly into the category of title contenders — and perhaps not just for this season but for years to come.