Spurs’ title bid was dealt a blow on Wednesday night as West Ham condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Upton Park in the London derby.
Michail Antonio’s early thumping header was ultimately enough to win it for the hosts.
Spurs made four changes to the side that beat Swansea 2-1 on Sunday. Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies, Ryan Mason, and Nacer Chadli were all given a start, while Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Son Heung-min and Dele Alli dropped down to the bench.
West Ham only made a solitary change, with midfielder Pedro Obiang starting instead of Sam Byram.
It only took West Ham seven minutes to take the lead. Antonio beat Chadli to Dimitri Payet’s cross, but Lloris couldn’t hold onto the ball and parried it into the goal. It was a very poor goal to give away.
West Ham continued to charge forward, with Spurs looking like a shadow of a side that has ambitions to compete for the title.
Lloris had to be alert to prevent Noble adding a second, and Payet and Lanzini ran rings around the Tottenham defence.
West Ham hadn’t lost at home since August, and they oozed confidence every time they had the ball.
On the stroke of half-time they had the ball in the net again, but referee Andre Marriner correctly ruled out Antonio’s effort for offside.
Spurs improved slightly at the start of the second period, and were at least spending some time in West Ham’s half. Trippier put a great ball onto Lamela’s head, but the Argentine couldn’t direct his effort on target.
The clearest chance for an equaliser came after 63 minutes. Alderweireld smashed an effort from 30 yards and Adrian pushed the ball straight into the path of Harry Kane, but the England international scuffed his effort horribly wide from a couple of yards out.
Moments later Spurs arguably should have been given a red card. Kevin Wimmer, who was already on a booking, hauled down Emmanuel Emenike, but the ref inexplicably gave the foul against the West Ham man.
There were no more real chances for the visitors, and as time wore down it was once again West Ham who enjoyed the majority of the possession and the territory.
The result means Spurs miss the chance to go top, but after Leicester drew on Tuesday, and City and Arsenal lost tonight, they remain just three points off the leaders.
West Ham are sixth, one point behind the two Manchester sides.
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Next up for West Ham is a trip to Everton on Sunday. Spurs face a huge game in their title bid when they welcome North London rivals Arsenal to White Hart Lane.