Chelsea bid to match Arsenal’s record winning streak just had to end at Tottenham, and the locals loved it

THEY will never live it down.

Under the lights, at White Hart Lane, they came up short after 13 wins on the spin.

Against Tottenham. Anywhere but Tottenham. Oh no, not Tottenham.

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Chelsea, finally, have cracked, just one game short of setting a new record of 14 consecutive Premier League victories.

We will find out what Antonio Conte, the man behind 3-4-3 and Chelsea’s hot streak, is made of now.

Everybody will be watching, waiting for them to chuck the title away after losing at Tottenham. It could happen, yet.

This has been a great run. It just could have been even better.

Whatever it was - fatigue, expectation, or the fact they were playing dear old Spurs - they were mauled here.

Dele Alli saw to that. This kid is on fire.

He scored twice, with headers in each half, to power Tottenham to a fifth straight Premier League win.

This mini-spurt has taken Spurs above Arsenal, grabbing fourth place as the pressure cranks up at the top of the table.

Chelsea, charming everybody with their football over the last three months, were no match here as they were beaten in the Prem for the first time since Arsenal blitzed them 3-0 in September.

Since then - with 10 clean sheets and 32 goals in 13 games - they have been the team to beat.

For that they deserves a massive pat on the back.

To get this far, to be within 90 minutes of creating history, is special.

They also know that Spurs have done the Premier League title race a right favour here.

Tottenham were waiting for them.

Dele’s first goal, a beauty, came bang on half-time.

“We’ve got Alli... he’s better than Ozil” they sing around these parts when the Tottenham midfielder is shimmering.

He certainly has more goals than thew German.

The England star's first, on the stroke of half-time, was a big one.

Christian Eriksen pulled it all together, collecting a pass from Kyle Walker down Tottenham’s right.

The cross was measured, finding the head of Alli for him to direct his header beyond the reach of Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois.

What a way to finish the half.

The reality is that Dele, who scored twice against Southampton and Watford in his last two games, had only just got to work.

Barring a brief flurry at the start of the second half, when Diego Costa and Eden Hazard had chances to equaliser, this was Tottenham’s night.

The Blues were not just chasing that record 14th win. Victory last night would have pretty much sealed a fifth Premier League title for Chelsea.

Instead the waters were muddied when Mauricio Pochettino matched Chelsea with three at the back and thickened it all up in midfield.

Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante were over-run by Eric Dier, the impressive Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele at times. This was throwback Tottenham. To the team who turned Pep Guardiola’s head to mush when they beat Manchester City 2-0 earlier in the season.

They did Chelsea up good and proper.

Toby Alderweireld, surely the best centre-half in the Premier League now, set the tone at the start with a brilliant tackle on Costa.

It was fair and clean, that is what counts.

Costa, rowing with his team-mate Pedro when they were at cross purposes in the first half, was grunting out there.

He needed help.

Hazard, buzzing around the Spurs penalty area, could not find one of those piercing passes.

Chelsea were getting desperate for it.

Gary Cahill was booked by referee Martin Atkinson when he grabbed Eriksen waist high to stop him getting goal-side.

It was a lucky escape.

They were punished shortly afterwards, with Eriksen providing the cross for Alli to put Tottenham in front.

Chelsea reacted, piling on the pressure at the start of the second half.

That was all before Alli got going again on 54 minutes, losing Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses for the second time when Eriksen swung in another cross from the right.

Dele is getting into good habits, timing his runs to support the main man Harry Kane.

Here, he got above Chelsea’s defence again, sending his header beyond Courtois with another quality finish.

It gave Tottenham a cushion, building a nice little lead against the league leaders.

This is a big win, a decisive win at a time when everybody was beginning to wonder whether Tottenham had it in them this year. Emphatically, they have.

Chelsea must go back to the drawing board, to start over again before they can dream of lifting another league title.

They are still top, still five points clear of nearest challengers Liverpool — who could only draw 2-2 at Sunderland last time out.

It is certainly no time to panic. Not just yet, anyway.