Dele Alli’s double jab gives Chelsea a bloody nose

So no record for Chelsea, and maybe no canter to the title as their winning run of 13 game was finally brought to an end in dramatic style at the home of their arch enemies Tottenham, who are now third and only seven points behind.

Dele Alli scored headed goals either side of half-time to secure a deserving victory for Spurs, who were still unhappy at the way last season’s title challenge was ended with a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Another Chelsea win would have equalled Arsenal’s record of 14 successive Premier League victories but it was not to be on a dramatic night at White Hart Lane.

Afterwards, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said: “We knew that defeat could happen before the game but I think today I saw a game with a good balance and they scored a goal at the end of the first-half and the second goal in our best moment.

“It is a pity to stop this run, but Tottenham is a good team, a really strong team and I think is for sure one of the teams that can fight for the title until the end. They fought last season and they can fight also this year.

“When you concede two goals, for sure you have to improve. My team are top of the table because we are working a lot. This league is very tough and it is important to continue to work.”

The game had started at breakneck pace. There was not the same brutality of the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge last season, when Chelsea came back to draw from 2-0 down to end Tottenham’s lingering title hopes, but there was no room for faint hearts at White Hart Lane.

A corner of the stadium is already missing as Tottenham’s rebuilding process moves ahead at a steady pace, but the old ground was rocking from the start, the electric atmosphere enhancing a game that loved up to the hype.

Both teams were at it from the word go, with Chelsea creating the first clear opening in the fifth minute when Eden Hazard ran clear of the offside trap, bore down on Hugo Lloris but sent his shot agonisingly wide of the far post.

In a first-half of few clear chances, this was one Chelsea could not afford to spurn. Whereas Spurs had gone all guns blazing at Chelsea earlier this season, they were slower out of the blocks this time, with Antonio Conte’s men playing higher up the pitch and pressing Tottenham’s defenders to prevent them playing out from the back.

It worked for a while, but once Spurs got their wing-backs Kyle Walker and Danny Rose going, it was Chelsea who were on the back foot. Victor Moses escaped referee Martin Atkinson notebook for tripping the England left-back, but Pedro was not so lucky when his crude lunge resulted in a booking.

Chances were rare. Spurs resorted to shooting from long distance, and Chelsea followed suit. David Luiz blazed a free kick over the bar, and then Diego Costa was high and horribly wide with another long-range effort.

Chelsea’s top scorer looked frustrated for most of the night, kept in check by Toby Alderweireld, and earned the derision of home supporters for a stand-up row with Pedro after the pair combined to waste a good chance.

Harry Kane was equally frustrated in front of goal but did not let it show and did not let up, either, relentlessly harrying the Chelsea defenders. Eventually they cracked, in first half stoppage time.

Another patient passing move found Kyle Walker on the right, and the England man played the ball inside to Christian Eriksen. The Dane, who was superb throughout, curled a perfect cross to the far right of the penalty box, where Alli rose effectively unmarked to direct a powerful header over the arching figure of Thibaut Courtois and into the far corner of goal.

The home crowd erupted, and Chelsea looked deflated. In what was a reverse of the game at Stamford Bridge, when Pedro’s equaliser at the same stage took the wind out of Tottenham’s sails, this time it was Chelsea who looked crushed as they walked off, with Tottenham buoyant.

And it got better for the home side nine minutes after the break. Conte had sent his men out to have a real go in the opening stages, and if Chelsea were going to get back into the game, this was their best moment. Lloris was at full stretch to keep out Costa’s only effort on target, Hazard headed wide from close range, and Pedro put a soft shot into the arms of Lloris.

Then came the killer blow. Mauricio Pochettino had identified the right of Chelsea’s defence as a weak point, with little height between Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses, and Alli exploited it brilliantly.

The second goal was a carbon copy of the first. Eriksen was set up by Walker and delivered another perfect cross to the far post, where the rangey Alli rose above the two defenders and even Courtois to power his header home.

It was his seventh goal in four games, the third time in successive games he has scored twice and the noise inside the stadium was cranked up another notch.

Chelsea never recovered from this hammer blow, and it could have been worse for them, as Eriksen, Kane and Alli all went close.

Conte threw everything at Tottenham in the closing stages, but whereas the north London team lost their heads at Stamford Bridge last May, they kept them superbly here with a display of intelligent passing and keep-ball.

Now Chelsea face a test of character to see how they respond, while the Spurs go marching on.

TOTTENHAM (3-5-1-1): Lloris 7; Dier 7, Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 7; Walker 7, Wanyama 8, Dembele 7 (Winks 73), Eriksen 8, Rose 8; Alli 9 (Sissoko 85); Kane 7.

Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Davies, Son.

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6, Luiz 6, Cahill 6; Moses 6 (Batshuayi 85), Kante 7 (Fabregas 78), Matic 6, Alonso 6 (Willian 65); Pedro 6, Costa 6, Hazard 7

Subs not used: Begovic, Zouma, Ivanovic, Chalobah.

Referee: Martin Atkinson.