Carlo Ancelotti had one good card left in his hand and he played it for all it was worth. Chelsea are still top of the Premier League and will stay there if they can beat Stoke and Wigan at home and Liverpool at Anfield.
Those three victories would kill Manchester United's quest to win a record fourth league championship in a row and an unprecedented 19th overall. That mission had seemed doomed until Paul Scholes, soon to enter his 20th year as a United player, planted his head on a Patrice Evra cross 17 seconds from the end of the Manchester derby. As the sun sank on a summery afternoon in north London, United had narrowed Chelsea's lead to one point and Spurs had jumped over Manchester City into fourth spot with a captivating 2-1 win over Ancelotti's side.
This was the kind of day that might have been designed by the Premier League's marketing department. It was an afternoon to boost foreign TV sales, to thrust in front of Spain's La Liga, which is home to more superstars but is less competitive than England's top division. A lunchtime neighbours' dispute in Manchester and a crosstown clash in the capital has turned a procession back into a scramble.
United – broken men, seemingly, after the Champions League loss to Bayern Munich and the home defeat to Chelsea – are wearing their ambush paint again while Roman Abramovich's men must concentrate all their formidable energies on hanging on in front. Beating Stoke on Sunday will be rendered more problematic by the loss of John Terry, who is suspended following his dismissal here for a second bookable offence.
The sand ran through Ancelotti's fingers all day: first with the Scholes header, then Tottenham's two-goal first-half blitz and finally with the Terry sending-off. But the Chelsea coach was hardly hysterical as he surveyed the damage. Long experience of psychological warfare in Serie A with Milan has equipped him with the skill to deflect stress.
"I'm always confident. Less confident after today - but we are in the best position," he said. "We must not panic now. We are top of the league with only three games left. Everyone would want to be in our place. We have two games at home and one difficult one away. In this moment one point more is not bad but we have to do better."
From Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, came a more showbizzy appraisal of the current standings. He said: "The championship is wide open again."
This was one of the best four-day spells in the club's recent history. A rare north London derby win over Arsenal was followed by a clear demonstration of Tottenham's impressive depth of talent. For Spurs, Michael Dawson looked an England centre-back in the making and Gareth Bale and Benoît Assou-Ekotto tormented Chelsea along the visitors' right flank.
This week Scholes extended the Manchester United contract he first signed in 1991 by another 12 months. His next two-fingered salute to time was to head the winning goal 2min 43secs into three minutes of added time in the Manchester derby and so bring this Premier League title dash back to life.
Four years on from their last championship win, vertigo is afflicting Chelsea, who conceded a Jermain Defoe penalty and goal by Bale before half-time to a Tottenham side energised rather than depleted by their midweek win over Arsenal. Twenty-four hours prior to that match Chelsea had toiled in a 1-0 victory against Bolton and the strain was still in their systems here. United's win at Eastlands clearly unsettled Ancelotti's men.
Scholes will be 36 in November but the majesty of his passing and his 15 years in a United first-team shirt helped Sir Alex Ferguson's side complete a trio of major victories over City. United's 4-3 win in the corresponding Premier League fixture in September was achieved through a goal by Michael Owen six minutes into added time. The referee that day, Martin Atkinson, was again in charge at City's home but could not be accused a second time of applying elastic time.
Scholes made his United debut against Port Vale way back in September 1994, when United fans knew him as "The Ginger Prince". He scored two that day and was on target again in the sky blue half of town for his 149th goal in 640 appearances. "I thought he was absolutely fantastic. He's such a skilful player, he was wonderful today," Ferguson said.
While United rejoiced Chelsea were swarmed by a Spurs side sporting two strikers in Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko: a risk, against Ancelotti's five-man midfield, but one that paid handsome dividends for Redknapp. Chelsea are a side of such mighty specimens that it becomes hard to believe doubt could corrode their resolve. They still look down on United. Ancelotti still holds that card.
