Chelsea will end the weekend at the top of the Premier League after recovering from a goal behind to beat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were unable to prolong their impressive run of clean sheets, which ended just over the 10-hour mark, but goals from Pedro and Victor Moses proved enough to earn all three points in the end for a seventh win in succession.
Spurs were unable to make their strong showing count in the opening 45 minutes as their 12-game unbeaten run to begin the season came to a disappointing end, leaving them fifth in the table and with just one win in their last 10 in all competitions.
Bar a late blip, it was a first half completely dominated by Tottenham who accrued 10 attempts at goal to their opponents' three, but they could only take one of their openings when it arrived.
Harry Kane had the ball in the net inside the opening five minutes, only for the offside flag to correctly go up to cut short the Englishman's celebrations.
Spurs were really enjoying themselves as the half wore on, and they were deservedly ahead with 11 minutes on the clock when Christian Eriksen put his boot through the ball from 20 yards out - the first league goal Chelsea had conceded in over two months.
Things were to get worse before they got better for the hosts, though, with supporters growing restless at their wing-backs' inability to get out of their own final third; Spurs always seemingly had a man spare as they exposed Chelsea's previously-perfect 3-4-3 setup.
Victor Wanyama had one attempt and Mousa Dembele a couple of his own, but Hugo Lloris was finally tested on the half-hour mark to keep out a David Luiz free kick in a fairly straightforward manner.
Normal service was soon restored in West London as Tottenham, playing more like the home side, fired in a couple more shots on target through Kane and Kyle Walker in quick succession, while Eric Dier also came close from a header which ended in a good position for Courtois to keep out.
There was a sign that things were beginning to change in the closing stages of the half, though, as Eden Hazard doubled his side's shot tally after Lloris passed the ball straight to him, before Pedro curled home a stunning equaliser.
With time nearly up, the Spaniard - who barely had a touch of the ball in the attacking third all half - produced a Cruyff Turn to set up a shot which he sent straight into the far corner from 20 yards out.
A third goal at Stamford Bridge in six appearances for Pedro, on top of a further five assists in that time, ensured that the scores were somehow level when referee Michael Oliver blew for the interval.
In a complete reversal of the opening 45 minutes, Chelsea looked by far the more composed team when mounting attacks following the restart and did not take long to edge ahead for the first time.
Diego Costa charged into the box and bided his time before sending the ball right the way through for Moses, who had all the time in the world to blast home the leveller via a touch on the line from both Lloris and the covering Jan Vertonghen.
It was the other wing-back, Marcos Alonso, who really should have put Chelsea out of reach when picked out by Costa 12 yards from goal, but the unmarked Spaniard got under his shot and sent it into the stands.
A mistake in midfield on the hour allowed Kane to charge through as the Lilywhites went in search of a leveller and, with the angle soon against him, he had the vision to spot Eriksen who volleyed into the hands of Courtois from eight yards out.
Spurs were struggling to get any players in behind, instead knocking the ball around in the Chelsea half but not doing a great deal with it to truly trouble their opponents.
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou came off the bench and provided some silky wing play in the closing stages, but he opted to go for glory when weaving through and could only fire away a tame attempt for Courtois to keep out.
There was to be no way through for Tottenham in the remainder, meaning that Chelsea climb back above Liverpool and Manchester City into first place ahead of next week's huge showdown with the Citizens.
Daniel Lewis
