Chelsea manager Antonio Conte expressed regret after his side’s 13-game winning run in the Premier League was ended by a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

Leaders Chelsea were aiming to become the first team to win 14 successive games in the same English top-flight season, but Dele Alli’s brace of headers stopped them short of the record.

Chelsea’s lead over second-place Liverpool remains five points, while Tottenham are now seven points off the pace in third place.

Chelsea’s Italian head coach Antonio Conte gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at White Hart Lane in London, on January 4, 2017.
In-form midfielder Dele Alli scored two near-identical headers as Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-0 on Wednesday to torpedo the Premier League leaders’ hopes of a record 14th consecutive victory. / AFP PHOTO

“It is a pity to stop this run, but Tottenham is a good team, a really strong team and I think is for sure one of the teams that can fight for the title until the end,” Conte told Sky Sports.

“We knew that defeat could happen before the game, but I think today I saw a game with a good balance. They scored a goal at the end of the first half and the second goal in our best moment.

“When you concede two goals, for sure you have to improve. My team are top of the table because we are working a lot. This league is very tough and it is important to continue to work.”

Asked to explain Chelsea’s defeat, centre-back Gary Cahill said: “We were short today all over the pitch. I don’t know why. We are not robots.”