Nottingham Forest took a giant leap to safety and plunged Tottenham further into relegation danger with a devasting victory at Spurs.
Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi settled the basement battle to lift Forest three points clear of the Premier League’s drop zone.
Forest leapfrogged Spurs into 16th to leave the hosts a point above the bottom three after West Ham’s defeat at Aston Villa.
It casts further doubt on the future of Tottenham interim manager Igor Tudor, who has only been in charge seven games.
Tottenham failed to sign Gibbs-White last summer, a transfer saga which left Forest threatening Spurs with legal action.
Fastforward seven-and-a-half months, the England midfielder’s goal could have helped pushed them closer to the Championship with a huge result for Forest – their first win in the Premier League under manager Vitor Pereira after he joined in February.
Spurs have now not won in the top flight since 28 December, have lost six of their past seven league games and are falling apart under Tudor.
The Croatian has lost five of his seven games in charge and Sunday’s result could be the most damaging of all.
Tottenham were on top in the first half but Igor Jesus – who had earlier turned the ball onto his own crossbar while defending – nodded in the opener in first-half stoppage time.
Mathys Tel hit the bar before the break as Spurs searched for an instant response but fell further behind after 62 minutes when Gibbs-White was left unmarked in the area and his shot from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cutback went through Guglielmo Vicario’s hands.
Once Spurs substitute Lucas Bergvall sliced a good chance wide there was no coming back and Awoniyi added a third with three minutes left, leaving Tottenham with seven games to save their Premier League future.
Tottenham analysis: Tudor in crisis with Spurs cheered on and booed off
Where do Tottenham go from here?
It could not have been any more damaging if they had tried and a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games pushes them closer to relegation.
Tudor’s position will now surely be in doubt just over a month after being appointed as Thomas Frank’s replacement.
The former Croatia defender has earned just a point from his five Premier League games and suffered a humiliation against Forest – who had not won in the Premier League for two months.
Tottenham are in disarray and could suffer relegation from the top flight for the first time since 1977.
It could have been scripted. Spurs did start with some purpose following the backing from the fans but that evaporated in the second half.
Igor Jesus’ goal silenced Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Gibbs-White’s goal was the cue for some fans to leave.
Awoniyi added more pain but after just two home league wins all season – against Brighton and Brentford – it should not come as a surprise.
Tottenham were cheered on and booed off and their Premier League fate is increasingly in the balance.
