The filthy weather in West London produced a slippery contest to match and seldom in those circumstances do Tottenham prevail.

All too often they go under. Lose their focus, make mistakes, crumble when things go against them and fail to impose their quality.

Not so on this occasion, where it was Chelsea who lost their cool. And with it their way, missing the chance to capitalise on Manchester City’s first defeat of the Premier League season and close the gap at the top of the table.

Spurs were stronger in body and mind. They were the better team for most of the game and seized on a moment of good fortune when rookie goalkeeper Mike Penders punched a corner into his own net for the opener.

The delivery by Mateus Fernandes was exquisite and Penders was under pressure from Jan-Paul van Hecke and the home team wanted a foul.

Maxence Lacroix hooked the ball out, but it had crossed the line by a yard or more and the goal stood.

Within three minutes, Cole Palmer had been sent off when he collected a second yellow card for a late challenge on Conor Gallagher.

Palmer had been lucky not to be sent off for his first offence, retaliation barging into Fernandes as the Spurs midfielder climbed up off the floor having conceded a free kick for a deliberate handball as Chelsea broke clear.

Roberto De Zerbi and his staff completely lost it on the bench, demanding a red card. De Zerbi picked up a yellow for his protests.

It was not exactly the Battle of the Bridge, the infamous skirmish in 2016, but Spurs kept their cool as tempers frayed.

Mathys Tel added to Chelsea’s misery with a brilliant solo goal, a run and a low finish for the second in the 87th minute.

Spurs celebrated wildly. In the previous 41 visits to Stamford Bridge, they won only once.

Tottenham have been on an upward curve since the international break. First a battling point with 10 men at Manchester United. Then the first win in the Premier League at the seventh attempt, at home to Coventry on Monday.

These results either side of a secretive training break in Spain helped replenish the confidence tanks and they started well at the Bridge, with James Maddison influential as the No.10 in a 4231 shape in the opening exchanges.

Having dabbled with a back three against Coventry, De Zerbi reverted to a back four with Archie Gray at right back and Mateus Fernandes starting for the first time since being hooked at half time against Aston Villa.

Mathys Tel came in to replace Dominic Solanke, who was on the bench, unable to start according to De Zerbi because of ‘fatigue’. Maybe it is a good thing Spurs are not in Europe and Solanke is not in the England picture.

These were big calls by De Zerbi and perhaps justified by a strong first 30 minutes.

Omar Marmoush led the line with Tel on the left, where he linked up to good effect with left back Andy Robertson.

Tel created the first real chance for the visitors with a low cross for Marmoush. Unmarked, 10 yards out in the centre of goal, the Egyptian should have scored but he was unable to beat Penders, the 21-year-old Belgian starting in goal for Chelsea after coming off the bench at Everton when Emi Martinez was carried off with a broken jaw.

Penders was impressive what were horrid conditions for goalkeepers. He made another save to deny Tel, released by Marmoush, although the flag went up for offside.

At the other end, Antonin Kinsky’s distribution was erratic and kept Chelsea in the game even when they did not have the ball. Twice Kinsky gave the ball away to Pedro Neto. On the second occasion he had to react with a splendid save from Jordan Henderson.

Kinsky also made the first save of the game, flying to his right to push wide a shot from Palmer after Neto had won the ball from Fernandes near a corner flag.

Spurs enjoyed had more than 70 per cent of possession in the first half but Chelsea had grown into the game as the interval approached. Kinsky was forced to make saves from Morgan Rogers, who started at centre forward with Joao Pedro absent with injury, and from Neto.

Maddison went down five minutes into the second half, signalling to the bench as he sank onto his haunches. He knew immediately he could not continue.

De Zerbi admitted on the eve of the game that Maddison had barely trained since starting for the first time in nearly 18 months, against Coventry.

The Spurs boss promised to take no risks but with a player who has had no luck with injuries. First a knee injury, then a setback, then a hip problem in preseason and a shoulder injury on the opening day of the season at Brentford.

Maddison was replaced by Conor Gallagher, a former Chelsea captain, booed onto the pitch by those who once adored him. There were cheers when he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Rogers.

Kinsky produced another excellent save from Neto as the clock ticked past the hour mark. Both teams made changes and the flashpoint featuring Palmer and Fernandes brought the game to the boil.