Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela struck in six second-half minutes as Tottenham Hotspur swamped Manchester United 3-0 on Sunday to keep Premier League leaders Leicester City in sight.
A game delayed half an hour by United's late arrival due to traffic congestion burst to life in the 70th minute with three rapid-fire goals that allowed Spurs to trim Leicester's advantage back to seven points.
Leicester, 2-0 winners at Sunderland earlier in the day, remain overwhelming favourites for the title, but Spurs' display showed that Mauricio Pochettino's side will not give up without a fight.
Pochettino had not beaten United in six previous attempts, first with Southampton and then Tottenham, and Spurs had not scored against them in three games under him. Both trends were reversed in stunning fashion.
The result, Spurs' first home league win over United in 15 years, had the additional effect of securing Leicester's place in the Champions League and United's hopes of joining the Foxes at Europe's top table are fading.
Louis van Gaal's side finished the weekend four points below fourth-place Manchester City in fifth place, raising the stakes ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup quarter-final replay at West Ham United.
United's late arrival prevented them from warming up fully and there was ironic applause when they finally trotted out for the warm-up, five minutes after the scheduled kick-off time.
But with Leicester's earlier win contributing to a flat atmosphere - United's fans mockingly chanting "You nearly won the league!" - it was initially the hosts who looked like they had got ready in a hurry.
Tottenham, who recalled centre-back Jan Vertonghen after over two months out with a knee injury, had trouble getting out of their own half in the early stages, with right-back Timothy Fosu-Mensah seeing a shot deflected wide and Chris Smalling hoisting an effort onto the roof of the net.
Spurs' first chance, a close-range effort from Harry Kane that David de Gea blocked, would not have stood anyway due to offside, but the momentary excitement seemed to enliven both crowd and team.
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