TOTTENHAM inflicted Chelsea’s first loss in the English Premier League (EPL) with a rampant performance in a 3-1 win at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min scored for Tottenham, which jumped above its London rival in the standings into third place.

The sight of Chelsea holding midfielder Jorginho clutching at thin air as Son outpaced him to score Spurs’ third goal in the 54th minute — and his 50th goal for the club — was a fitting image, with Tottenham quicker to everything in an unexpectedly one-sided derby.

Chelsea, which scored a late consolation through substitute Olivier Giroud, came into the game as one of three undefeated teams in the top flight, along with Manchester City and Liverpool.

On a day when the top two enjoyed big away wins, Chelsea dropped seven points behind first-place City as frailties in Maurizio Sarri’s side were exposed, especially on defense.

“The scoreline should have been a lot more with the chances we had,” said Alli, who was probably referring to Kane lifting a shot over the crossbar from close range when the score was 3-0.

Tottenham has been scraping wins of late, mostly by a one-goal margin, but Mauricio Pochettino’s team looked a different side with the attacking-midfield trio of Christian Eriksen, Alli and Son positioned behind Kane.

Eriksen swung in the free kick that was headed in by Alli in the eighth minute and Kane doubled the lead in the 16th from outside the area, with Chelsea defender David Luiz turning his back as the England striker took aim.

Son’s goal came when he was set free down the right by Alli’s curling pass.

The South Korea forward cut inside past Jorginho and drove a low shot into the corner. It was a 10th win in 13 games for Tottenham, which is five points off City.

Meanwhile, Manchester United stuttered to 0-0 at home against struggling Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on Saturday as Jose Mourinho’s disjointed side fell further behind the leading pack.

Boos greeted the final whistle at Old Trafford, such was the home side’s listless performance against a side without a league win for 10 weeks.

Mourinho accused some of his players of lacking “heart.”

“Not enough intensity, not enough desire,” he said. “So, I think we played a game like ‘One more game,’ and I don’t think the game is ‘One more game.’ I think it is a game we really need to win.”

United was 14 points behind first-place Manchester City and, perhaps more worryingly, let pass a great chance to reduce the gap to the top four.

“My feeling is that there was not enough from the heart,” Mourinho added. “You must play with brain, we must play also with heart, and I think there was not enough heart.”

(SD-Agencies)