Eric Dier and Son Heung-min goals secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Tottenham at Burnley on Saturday that narrows the gap to Premier League leader Chelsea to seven points.
With Chelsea suffering a shock home defeat to Crystal Palace, Spurs needed a win to take advantage of a rare lapse from Antonio Conte's men.
But it had to be patient and was made to wait to make the breakthrough, Dier finishing well after Jeff Hendrick's poor clearance from a left-wing corner following 66 battling minutes at Turf Moor.
Dele Alli then squared for Son to tap in at the far post to ensure Spurs would take full advantage of Chelsea's slip, the South Korean scoring his 15th goal of the season.
Victory came at a cost for Spurs, however, with Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks both forced off in the first half, the latter's injury looking particularly serious as he was given oxygen on the sidelines after colliding with Stephen Ward.
Burnley had been unbeaten at home since November in the league but it is now winless in seven and other results saw Sean Dyche's men slip to 15th, five points clear of the bottom three.
The host had the first effort as Ashley Barnes got up highest at the back post to head a Matt Lowton cross goalwards, but the save was comfortable for Spurs captain Hugo Lloris.
Toby Alderweireld thumped a long-range free-kick straight at Tom Heaton after 17 minutes as Spurs struggled to find rhythm, before Alli spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring.
Heaton could only palm Christian Eriksen's low drive back into the danger area and, under pressure from Ward and Michael Keane, Alli blazed over the angle from 10 yards.
An already depleted Spurs were forced into two substitutions shortly before half-time with Wanyama and Winks going off injured, Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko coming on.
But the visitor, who switched from a back three to a flat four at the interval with Dier moving into midfield, almost nudged ahead three minutes after the restart.
Heaton stretched to keep out Vincent Janssen's effort and Sissoko was unable to turn the rebound towards goal.
The goalkeeper was immediately called into action again, blocking a firm Ben Davies strike, and Sissoko lashed wide after 63 minutes after a scramble in the box as Spurs pressed.
Mauricio Pochettino's men then converted their second-half dominance into the opening goal.
Burnley was unable to deal with a corner and when Hendrick sliced his clearance straight to Dier, he made no mistake with a placed finish to score his first Premier League goal in 475 days.
New England international Keane could only direct a shot wide after 73 minutes as Burnley sought a response but Spurs soon extended their lead.
Son added the second with a close-range finish at the back post after Alli slipped a low ball across the box to place the result beyond doubt and reawaken a formerly non-existent title race.
Key Opta stats:
- Tottenham has won more points than any other Premier League team in 2017 (26).
- Son Heung-min has scored eight goals in 25 Premier League games this season, doubling his tally from last season (four goals in 28 games).
- Only Olivier Giroud and Nolito (4 each) have scored more goals from the subs bench than Son in the Premier League this season (3).
- Dele Alli has been involved in 11 goals in 11 Premier League games for Tottenham in 2017 so far (eight goals, three assists).
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