London, England

Tottenham Hotspur staged a stunning comeback, scoring three goals in a seven-minute span late in the second half to upset defending Premier League champion Manchester City, 3-1, Sunday at White Hart Lane.

Down 1-0, the Spurs started the rally with an equalizer from Clint Dempsey in the 75th minute before Jermain Defoe marked his return with a goal in the 79th minute.

Gareth Bale closed out the win with his 23rd goal of the season in the 82nd minute as the Spurs kept their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League alive.

"I must praise the team for their fighting spirit and it was great to see them turn it around in the second half because the first half was not to our level," Tottenham head coach Andre Villas-Boas said.

"We improved dramatically and the players were fantastic to get this result. It comes down to the character of the players. All three that came on showed that desire and ambition to help the team, and in the end we were able to punish them," he added.

The loss was a huge blow to City's title defense as it remained 13 points behind leader Manchester City, which could win its 13th Barclays Premier League title Monday with a win over Aston Villa at home.

"The championship was finished three or four weeks ago. They [Manchester United] deserve to win this championship," City manager Roberto Mancini said.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez buried a goal in the 97th minute as Liverpool forced a 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Anfield.

Chelsea took the early lead when Oscar hit a header in the 26th minute but Liverpool tied the count behind Daniel Sturridge's goal in the 52nd minute.

Five minutes after, Eden Hazard put Chelsea ahead with a penalty conversion after Suarez handballed a corner shot by Juan Mata.

Then, Suarez forced a deadlock seven minutes into stoppage time to settle for a point.