Tottenham talisman Gareth Bale called the seven-minute goal glut "amazing" as Roberto Mancini was left wondering how his Manchester City side lost a game they had complete control of.

Three goals in the space of seven minutes, from Clint Dempsey, Jermain Defoe and Bale, saw Spurs stage an incredible fightback at White Hart Lane, after Samir Nasri had given City an early 1-0 lead.

 "We knew it was a massive game and going 1-0 down was a bit disappointing, but the lads showed the character to turn it around," Bale said.

"That spell was amazing. As soon as we scored the equaliser everyone had the confidence and belief. The fans raised the roof and that gave us even more belief to go forward and we were able to score two more after that.

"All three goals were important. The first gave us the belief, the second killed them off a little and the third sealed it. It was a great comeback."

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas praised the spirit of his team, to find a way to come back against last season's Premier League champions. The win keeps Tottenham well in the hunt for a top-four place, with the side now just two points behind third-placed Arsenal, with a game in hand. Only a point separates Spurs from Chelsea, who could only draw at Anfield.

"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," Villas-Boas told Sky Sports.

"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."

City manager Mancini was left bemused by his side's meek surrender in the final minutes.

"We did two mistakes in two minutes, it's incredible that we lost this game because we had everything under control and we had many chances to score," he said.

"I don't know how a team like us can concede a goal like this -- it's strange. It's not the right result but they won, so congratulations to them.

"I can't believe that we lost this game because we played very, very well for 80 minutes, this is our problem this year, when we have chances we don't score.

"We needed the second goal to close the game but they scored and we did two big mistakes which is strange for us but I think that today (Sunday) has been the mirror of our season."