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Dominic Solanke struck a second-half brace to outshine England team-mate Ollie Watkins and fire Tottenham to an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa.
Villa started the day with a five-point cushion over Spurs, having also beaten the north London club to a top-four spot last season, and went ahead in the 32nd minute when Morgan Rogers poked in from a corner.
It halted the momentum Ange Postecoglou's side had built in midweek with a fine Carabao Cup triumph over Manchester City, but they were transformed in the second half and blew away their midlands rivals.
Captain Son Heung-min set up Brennan Johnson for his seventh goal of the season in the 49th minute before Solanke hit a quick-fire double during the final quarter of an hour after a six-match run without a goal.
James Maddison, a late replacement for substitute Richarlison, capped off a great day for Spurs with a stoppage-time free-kick as the hosts moved up to seventh, only two points off Arsenal.
The two teams had contrasting fortunes in the Carabao Cup as Spurs beat City with a near-full-strength XI, while a heavily-rotated Villa side lost to Crystal Palace, but it did mean the visitors were fresher for this latest battle.
Tottenham tried to build a head of steam midway through a dull first half as Rodrigo Bentancur had a dipping effort clip the roof of the net following a succession of corners.
Spurs were up against the set-piece kings, though, and Villa nearly scored from their first when Amadou Onana headed against the foot of the post from a Lucas Digne cross after Guglielmo Vicario had punched away the initial corner.
The warning was not heeded as Unai Emery watched his team strike first just after the half-hour mark.
Another excellent delivery by Digne was flicked on by Tottenham defender Pedro Porro and hit team-mate Bentancur, which forced Vicario into a point-blank save but Rogers reacted first to fire home the opener.
It could have been 2-0 with 42 minutes played when Watkins was slipped in by Rogers, but the England international dragged his shot wide.
Solanke, the other England forward on the pitch, had an effort blocked soon before the interval but only managed nine touches in the first half.
Postecoglou resisted the temptation to make changes at the break and it paid off as Spurs equalised in the 49th minute.
Captain Son ran at Matty Cash and worked a yard of space before he produced a wonderful cross for Johnson to tap in at the back post.
Another opportunity was fashioned when Son passed into Destiny Udogie, who found Solanke, but his low attempt was well saved by Emi Martinez.
Son was left disappointed moments later when Postecoglou replaced his skipper - only just back from a hamstring injury - with Richarlison, before other players started dropping like flies.
Tottenham vice-captain Cristian Romero limped off with a foot injury to be replaced by Ben Davies, then Villa boss Emery made a quick decision to withdraw Rogers after he got caught on the ankle by Pape Sarr.
Rogers was furious, though, as visiting super-sub Jhon Duran was sent on, but it was Spurs who moved through the gears and seized the initiative.
With quarter of an hour left, Davies made a crucial tackle on Watkins, which allowed Sarr to recycle into Johnson, who found Dejan Kulusevski and, after Solanke was played in, the £65m forward coolly chipped the onrushing Martinez.
A VAR check confirmed Solanke was onside and it was 3-1 four minutes later when Sarr intercepted Pau Torres' pass, slipped in Richarlison and he cut back for Solanke to sweep home.
Richarlison, who has also missed a large chunk of the season through injury, had to limp off following the goal but Maddison provided the icing on the cake.
The 82nd-minute substitute curled a free-kick around the wall and into the top corner from 20 yards in the 96th minute to make it nine wins in 11 matches in all competitions for Tottenham.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou knows how tough tonight's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at home to Manchester City will be, despite previous remarks from Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola has repeatedly stated this season that City would not waste energy on the competition and during the 2-1 win over Watford last month played five academy graduates, which included Phil Foden and Rico Lewis.
Postecoglou is fully aware if Spurs want to progress to the quarter-finals then they must be at their best.
He said: "If you look at Pep in this comp, he has always pretty heavily rotated and they won four in a row didn’t they?
"He’s not playing his kids. No disrespect to Pep’s kids! These are good players, they’re at City. They have a pretty good programme. Pedro (Porro) was part of that.
"If you’re part of the City infrastructure, you’re a good player. We’re expecting a tough game, but irrespective of who they put out, we want to win. We want to stay in this competition and put in a strong performance."
Tuesday was familiar territory for Postecoglou, who has continuously faced questions about Tottenham’s 16-year trophy drought since his 2023 appointment.
The 59-year-old has been consistent in his belief that cup success will not guarantee a prosperous future and pointed to Erik ten Hag’s dismissal from Manchester United on Monday as further evidence.
"Everyone tells me, just win a trophy and you'll be fine. I don’t think so"
"You can’t guarantee success. No-one can, but you can put yourself in a position," Postecoglou insisted.
"If you can put yourself in a position in the league on a consistent basis, I think by extension you should be strong in the knock-out comps. That’s still where I think our most meaningful progress lies.
"Winning a comp. Is it a positive? Absolutely. Our supporters will love it, it’s great for the club, yes you get that winning feeling too. But it’s not a panacea for everything, obviously.
"We’ve got a manager (Ten Hag) here who’s won two in the last two years who’s just got the sack. Everyone tells me, just win a trophy and you’ll be fine. I don’t think so.
"The measures these days are constantly shifting. There’s always something that people perceive to be better.
"What’s more important for me is that we’re getting to a space where we’re consistently challenging for all honours.
"If we’re there in that space, where big clubs are, and where we should be, the rest will take care of itself."
The 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday halted Spurs’ momentum after they had won seven of their previous eight matches in all competitions.
It occurred three weeks after a collapse at Brighton on 6 October produced a 3-2 reverse, which left Tottenham eighth in the Premier League after four defeats in nine games.
However, Postecoglou has plenty of belief in his squad, which will be without Son Heung-min and Wilson Odobert (both hamstring) for the visit of City.
He added: "We know where we are at. We’re struggling in difficult moments because we lack some maturity and leadership.
"Now, there’s two ways of dealing with that. You can either go and buy it, acquire it, or you can wait for it to develop within your own group.
"We’ve gone down this (development) way because I think that’s the better way for me, but with that process, it takes time and experience. You’ve got to go through tough times.
"I’m so optimistic about this playing group. I think there’s such a high ceiling with this group of players. The more we get exposed to difficult times, the more I believe that ceiling gets higher."
Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola does not know when Kevin De Bruyne will return to action after admitting the playmaker's injury is worse than first thought.
De Bruyne has not played for City since being forced off at half-time in the Champions League draw against Inter Milan in mid-September. The 33-year-old also missed four months of last season after hamstring surgery.
"I would like to tell you (when he can return), I especially would like to know, but I don’t know," Guardiola said.
"He feels better to train but to go to the level we need for competition he still has pain. Kevin has to feel good to express the huge talent that he has."
Asked if the injury was more complicated than it initially appeared, Guardiola added: "Yeah, that’s why I’m not a doctor. He’s feeling better but not the best.
"If he doesn’t come back as quick as possible we will struggle because we cannot sustain it with 14 or 15 players but it is what it is.
"We need players to come back but it is what it is. Hopefully that can happen after the international break."
"We have a lot of injured players and I cannot rotate like I would" - pep Guardiola
Guardiola’s injury problems having been growing in recent weeks.
Newly-crowned Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is out for the rest of the campaign, Oscar Bobb is yet to play after breaking his leg in pre-season, while Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku will all miss Wednesday’s Carabao Cup trip to Spurs.
After beating Watford in the last round, Guardiola said he intended to play academy players in this competition because of the already heavy demand on his senior squad, although a draw away to Spurs has forced a re-think on that front.
The likes of James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly will hope to be involved, but Guardiola admitted he needed to prepare for the challenge of a Tottenham side smarting from the loss to Crystal Palace.
"There is someone (who will come into the side) but we play against Spurs," Guardiola said.
"They’re coming from defeat and I know what that is mentally for managers and players. They’re playing against City, I’m sorry to say it but we have won four Premier Leagues in a row. I know they will be at their best.
"We also won the Carabao Cup four in a row (between the 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons) and I always used the early rounds to play guys who didn’t play regularly.
"Now we have a problem that we have a lot of injured players and I cannot rotate like I would and I don’t want to put much pressure on the young players on this stage for this opponents so I have to make a mix of the players."
Jean-Philippe Mateta's first-half goal dealt Tottenham a blow and lifted Crystal Palace to their first Premier League win of the season with a 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park.
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou, without captain Son Heung-min, handed 17-year-old Mikey Moore his first league start, and it soon became clear the hosts were going to make it more difficult for the visitors than perhaps some expected.
Mateta grabbed the game’s only goal in the 31st minute, and while Brennan Johnson struck the post in a near-instant reply, neither side were able to alter the scoreline despite a decent number of chances at Selhurst Park.
Three points at home also meant Palace swerved slumping to their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, having entered the contest without a victory in eight matches.
The hosts got off to an encouraging start, but both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances in the early stages.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner was forced to call upon Will Hughes to replace Jefferson Lerma, who limped off in the 22nd minute.
Action had barely resumed when Spurs’ Dejan Kulusevski went down, then Pedro Porro near the touchline soon after. The former required treatment but both were deemed fit to continue.
Maxence Lacroix nodded an effort over the crossbar then Ismaila Sarr went a bit closer, firing straight at Guglielmo Vicario before Mateta broke the deadlock.
Spurs allowed Daniel Munoz to swoop in and pounce on a loose ball from a cross to the right of the penalty area. The Colombian’s delivery found Ebere Eze, who in turn set up Mateta with a deft move and the Frenchman netted the opener with a low finish.
The visitors went within inches of a swift reply on the counter-attack when Johnson clipped Dean Henderson’s left post from close range following a scramble, Chelsea loanee Trevoh Chalobah clearing the rebound off the line.
Both sides continued to apply pressure, but the Eagles retained their at the break after a big save from Henderson to deny James Maddison in stoppage time.
Munoz got the second half started with a shot, well over, and while Eze had the ball in the back of the net in the 50th minute, the flag was quickly raised, a VAR check confirming the offside.
The hosts wanted a penalty when Eze claimed he was tugged down by Micky van de Ven in the area but referee Darren Bond disagreed and the game carried on.
Maddison was again denied by Henderson, before Palace had a flurry of attempts to double their lead. Sarr’s effort was deflected, then another miss from Munoz before Vicario got a glove to the Colombian’s cross and Eze volleyed over.
Palace protested that Van de Ven, the last man, should have been sent off when Sarr went down under his challenge on the left, but Bond showed the Netherlands defender only a yellow card.
Sarr was replaced by Eddie Nketiah after undergoing treatment, with Palace then unable to make anything of the resulting free-kick.
Postecoglou had by that point made a trio of substitutions, swapping out Moore, Maddison and Kulusevski for Timo Werner, Richarlison and Pape Sarr as they looked to rescue a point.
Adam Wharton almost gave Palace breathing space with just under 10 minutes remaining, first forcing Vicario into an outstretched save before sending the ball into the stands from Hughes’ corner.
Spurs put Palace under more pressure during stoppage time, when Werner forced Henderson into another stop through a crowd, the home goalkeeper then punching away a final cross as his side got over the line for a long-awaited victory.
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Tottenham, West Ham and Mohammed Kudus have all been charged with misconduct following a stormy conclusion to Saturday's Premier League clash.
Hammers forward Kudus, who had opened the scoring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, was sent off four minutes from time after an ugly melee in which Micky van de Ven and substitute Pape Matar Sarr were both allegedly pushed in the face.
An FA spokesperson said: "Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have been charged following their Premier League match on Saturday, 19 October.
"Tottenham Hotspur allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 82nd minute.
"West Ham United allegedly failed to ensure that their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way at the same time.
"Mohammed Kudus allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct after the offence that he was sent off for.
"Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Mohammed Kudus have until Thursday, 24 October to provide their responses."
The visitors led through Kudus’ 18th-minute opener, but eventually lost 4-1 as Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma and Son Heung-min struck either side of keeper Alphonse Areola’s own goal before the game erupted into controversy.
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Tottenham produced a second-half blitz of their own with three goals in eight minutes to down West Ham 4-1 and dispel memories of their collapse at Brighton.
Ange Postecoglou had been forced to stew on a humbling 3-2 loss away to Brighton for two weeks during the international break where they conceded three times in quick succession after half-time.
When Mohammed Kudus put West Ham ahead in the 18th minute after slack home defending, the Spurs boss could have been forgiven for fearing the worst but Dejan Kulusevski levelled before the break and the hosts were at their scintillating best afterwards.
Yves Bissouma slotted home to make it 2-1 in the 52nd-minute and Jean-Clair Todibo put through his own net four minutes later before Son Heung-min wrapped up the scoring on the hour mark with a trademark left-footed finish.
There was still time for Julen Lopetegui to watch Kudus be sent off late on for violent conduct to compound another poor afternoon for the new West Ham boss.
Spurs were boosted by the return of fit-again captain Son and the in-form Brennan Johnson fizzed an early effort wide.
West Ham had headed into the international break after a 4-1 victory over Ipswich and almost went ahead in the 11th minute.
Jarrod Bowen skipped past Micky van de Ven and cut back for Kudus, but his powerful strike was tipped over by Guglielmo Vicario.
It was a warning sign that Tottenham would not heed as not long after Son curled just past the post, Lopetegui watched his team go ahead.
Destiny Udogie was at fault for Spurs after he failed to initially clear his line, which allowed Bowen the opportunity to race beyond him and tee up Kudus, who scuffed an effort into the bottom corner in the 18th-minute.
Postecoglou could only shake his head on the touchline, but his team responded impressively with another Son effort deflected wide before Lucas Paqueta almost turned Udogie's cross into his own net.
Pedro Porro was next to go close with a low effort well saved by Alphonse Areola, who quickly got up to claim the rebound and deny Johnson a tap-in.
The momentum had firmly shifted now and Tottenham did duly level after 36 minutes as James Maddison carried the ball before he found Kulusevski, who cut inside and rifled a left-footed strike in off the post from 16-yards.
Pape Sarr was sent on for Maddison at half-time and with Postecoglou’s words still ringing in the ears of his players, they started with a bang.
Moments after Udogie had a shot deflected over, the left-back received Son’s pass and checked back inside before he teed up Bissouma to roll home for Spurs’ second in the 52nd-minute.
It was 3-1 four minutes later when Kulusevski laid back for Son, who had a low effort saved by Areola, which unfortunately deflected off West Ham defender Todibo and went across the line.
Spurs were not finished there and Son grabbed his ninth goal against the Hammers on the hour mark to cap a three-goal spell in eight minutes.
Sarr passed out to Son, who dribbled into the penalty area and worked a yard of space against Todibo before he drilled home.
Son hit the post seconds later as Tottenham scented blood, but Udogie had to block a Kudus effort on the line before normal service was resumed as Kulusevski curled wide and Johnson was denied by Areola.
Areola also thwarted Timo Werner before West Ham ended with 10-men as Kudus was sent off in the 86th-minute by referee Andrew Madley, following a VAR review, for violent conduct after he shoved Sarr in the face.
Brighton scored three times in 18 second-half minutes to fight back from two goals down to stun Tottenham Hotspur and claim a 3-2 win after an entertaining encounter at Amex Stadium.
Spurs were on course for a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions when Brennan Johnson and James Maddison struck before half-time to put Ange Postecoglou's men in control.
That made it six goals in six matches for Johnson, but Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler introduced Pervis Estupinan at the break and the Seagulls were transformed with Yankuba Minteh able to reduce the deficit in the 48th minute.
The impressive Georginio Rutter levelled 10 minutes later with a fine finish before ex-Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck completed the comeback when he headed home what proved the winner after 66 minutes.
Victory for Brighton earned them another scalp after they beat Manchester United in August and took points off Arsenal, but Spurs were brought back down to earth after a decent run to show there is plenty of work left to do for Postecoglou.
This match had been titled the 'high-line derby' due to the bold approach adopted by both managers with their defensive lines and it took barely 20 seconds for the risk element to be exposed by Tottenham.
Dominic Solanke sent Timo Werner away, but his cross evaded the unmarked Johnson.
Chances kept on coming for Spurs with a back-pedalling Lewis Dunk able to deny Dejan Kulusevski before Maddison had a shot deflected wide by Adam Webster, who was forced off soon after through injury.
Spurs thought they had scored with 21 minutes played when the watch of referee David Coote signalled the ball had crossed the line from a Werner header.
However, Pedro Porro, who provided the cross, was adjudged to be offside thanks to the Brighton high line.
That same defence did get breached two minutes later and it was a familiar scorer for Tottenham.
After Rutter was tackled near the halfway line, Maddison passed into Solanke, who smartly slipped in Johnson and he stroked into the bottom corner with his left foot to score for a sixth consecutive match.
Brighton did regroup and Guglielmo Vicario punched away a dangerous cross by Kaoru Mitoma before the Japanese winger almost created the leveller for Welbeck, but he side-footed wide from close range.
It was a gilt-edged miss and Tottenham punished the hosts' profligacy with eight minutes of the first half left.
Solanke was again involved as he turned and played in Werner, who this time cut back for Maddison and his low effort went through the hands of Bart Verbruggen to put the visitors' 2-0 up.
There was still time for Welbeck to head another chance wide before Johnson fired over at the conclusion of an end-to-end half.
Hurzeler had seen enough and introduced Estupinan at half-time, which had an instant impact.
Estupinan combined with Mitoma and his cross from the left was horribly miscued by Destiny Udogie, which allowed Minteh to drill home from seven yards in the 48th minute.
Brighton were in the ascendancy and after Vicario tipped over Joel Veltman's cross, he got down low to deny Mitoma.
Spurs briefly threatened after with Solanke unable to get on the end of Kulusevski's centre, but one-way traffic resumed and the equaliser arrived after 58 minutes.
Mitoma cut inside and played into Rutter, who got the better of Micky van de Ven and rifled into the bottom corner for his second goal since a summer switch from Leeds.
Eight minutes later and the comeback was complete with Rutter again central to it.
Rutter was able to turn away from Udogie too easily and then beat Rodrigo Bentancur to the ball to cross in for Welbeck to head in unmarked from a matter of yards.
Postecoglou responded with a flurry of substitutes and while Werner blazed over and Udogie had a low effort saved by Verbruggen, they never looked like equalising.
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Jamie Vardy rolled back the years to terrorise Tottenham again and earn Leicester a 1-1 draw in their Premier League opener.
Spurs were ahead at half-time thanks to Pedro Porro's 29th-minute header after a one-sided first 45 at King Power Stadium.
It was a different story after the break though with veteran Vardy able to punish slack away marking in the 57th-minute to earn Steve Cooper a point in his first match in charge.
A lengthy delayed occurred during the second half when Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur left on a stretcher after a head injury but despite nine minutes of stoppage-time no winner could be found.
Tributes were paid before kick-off to former Leicester manager and assistant Craig Shakespeare, who died earlier this summer with applause breaking out long before the announcer invited appreciation.
Newly promoted Foxes, under the management of Cooper for the first time, were boosted by the surprise return of 37-year-old Vardy, but his old partner in crime James Maddison received boos from sections of the home faithful.
Oliver Skipp had swapped Tottenham for Leicester hours before this opener and watched his former team-mates start strongly.
Bentancur, in for the suspended Yves Bissouma after his laughing gas incident, had a header cleared off the line by Wilfred Ndidi before Brennan Johnson’s volley was parried away by Mads Hermansen.
Spurs’ new £65million forward Dominic Solanke should have done better with a header soon after and sent another straight at the Leicester goalkeeper during a frantic early period.
An opening goal for Tottenham felt inevitable and it arrived with 29 minutes played.
Maddison was the architect after he cut inside and produced another dangerous delivery, which was this time flicked into the corner by right-back Porro.
Johnson flashed another effort wide before the hosts had their first shot when Guglielmo Vicario raced out to head away from Vardy, but debutant Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s long-range strike sailed harmlessly wide.
After Pape Sarr got back at the start of the second half to deny De Cordova-Reid, who was subsequently flagged for offside, normal serviced looked to be resumed.
Solanke’s powerful effort was well saved by Hermansen and Bentancur also fired straight at the Foxes stopper after a slick move.
Tottenham’s profligacy would be punished by a familiar foe in the 57th minute.
After a ball was flashed across the Spurs goal, Abdul Fatawu cut inside and chipped in for the unmarked Vardy to head home at the back post.
It was Vardy’s ninth goal against Tottenham and 137th in the Premier League, where Leicester suddenly looked like they belonged.
Ndidi smashed an effort into the side-netting before Vardy was presented with a golden chance when he raced away to collect Facundo Buonanotte’s pass, but Vicario made an excellent low save.
A lengthy delay followed when Bentancur received treatment for a number of minutes after he went down from a corner and eventually left the pitch on a stretcher while he received oxygen.
Ange Postecoglou revealed Bentancur was "up and about and talking" afterwards.
The Australian told Sky Sports: "It's a head injury so we've just got to be really careful. The good news is he was up and about and talking. We'll let the medical team take charge of that."
Further chances were created but Vicario saved Ndidi’s header before Spurs substitute Richarlison sent an effort over to ensure the points were shared.