Gareth Bale enhanced his burgeoning reputation with another superb goal as Tottenham beat Southampton 1-0 on Saturday to remain in the hunt for Champions League football next season.
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Voted this season's player of the year by both fellow professionals and sports writers, the Wales international broke the deadlock with a solo effort from outside the box with just four minutes remaining.
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And the goal means Tottenham can now head to Chelsea on Wednesday confident of getting something out of the game in hand both sides possess over Arsenal in their fascinating three-way tussle for the two available qualification places.
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The result was nonetheless harsh on Southampton, whose performance had been worthy of at least a point. But the south coast side know as well as anyone how potent Bale can be, having sold him to Tottenham for a fee rising to £7 million ($10.9 million, 8.3 million euros) in 2007.
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Kick-off at White Hart Lane was delayed by 30 minutes because of traffic problems caused by a chemical spillage that closed part of the M25 motorway.
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When the game did get under way, there was an early chance for Spurs striker Jermain Defoe when the Southampton back line struggled to clear, but his shot ended up in the side-netting.
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Southampton's reply was a move that caught Tottenham out as striker Rickie Lambert played right-back Nathaniel Clyne in behind the home defence.
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Clyne flashed a powerful shot wide of the far post, but that was just the beginning of a spell of pressure from the away side, whose quick passing was impressive.
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Tottenham captain Michael Dawson was forced to concede a corner to stop Guly Do Prado setting up Jay Rodriguez, who headed over from the ensuing set-piece.