It proved to be a night to forget for Tottenham as they crashed back down to earth with an almighty bang following a slender 1-0 defeat at Burnley.
Victorious at Premier League leaders Manchester City four days earlier, Antonio Conte's Spurs missed a glorious chance to close in on the top four as relegation-threatened Burnley clinched all three points at Turf Moor.
Struggling to make an impact in the first half with Nick Pope, and Hugo Lloris at the other end for that matter, having nothing of note to do, the Lilywhites did up the pressure on the hosts after the break and saw Harry Kane crash a header against the crossbar.
Failing to grab the crucial opener, it was the Clarets who instead nudged ahead in the final stages with Ben Mee climbing above Cristian Romero to nod in a deep free-kick.
Prior to going one goal behind, Conte had switched things up in hope of Spurs taking the lead as Lucas Moura came on in place of Emerson Royal.
The change meant that Spurs had four attackers on the pitch in Lucas, Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, with the Swede having to drop back from his role in the front three and play as a wing-back instead.
It may be a position that the 21-year-old has very little experience in but the head coach did allude to the fact that his new signing can operate there when speaking in a press conference at the start of the month.
"About Kulusevski, he's a good player. He’s very young. I think he’s a great talent," he explained. "He can play as a No.9 if you want to play two strikers, No.10 if you want to play with two players behind the striker.
"At the same time, he has the potential to play as a wing-back on the right. He has good quality. He likes to attack, he’s good one-v-one, he can create chances for his teammates. A good signing for us."
Lacking quality and composure in the wing-back areas in the final third during the first 65 minutes of the contest, Spurs looked so much better for having Kulusevski there and he soon made an impact on proceedings as he curled an effort wide of the target after cutting in.
The Sweden international saw more of the ball after that but he couldn't repeat his Man City heroics to help Tottenham draw level and leave Lancashire with points in the bag.
Certainly a problem position for Tottenham and an area of the pitch that Conte and Fabio Paratici wanted to strengthen in January, the head coach's decision to put his new signing there may hint at his plan going forward over the remaining months.
Emerson has struggled at times during his time at Tottenham as he tries to adapt to playing as a wing-back and also to the pace and intensity of the Premier League, with Matt Doherty looking a shadow of the player who wowed at Wolves when he has been given pitch time.
Kulusevski may not have the defensive qualities of his fellow defenders as he is an attacker by trade but he does have the quality in the final third that can see him be a big hit as a wing-back.
All eyes will now be on Conte's selection at Leeds to see where exactly Kulusevski will be lining up at Elland Road.
