Having had their top-flight status confirmed for next season following West Ham’s defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, Leeds travelled to North London full of confidence.
Daniel Farke’s side edged a cagey opening 20 minutes, and they nearly broke the deadlock when Joe Rodon’s close-range header looked destined for the bottom corner, only for Antonin Kinský to react brilliantly down to his left to deny the Welshman.
Tottenham improved after that scare, with Richarlison seeing a deflected strike comfortably saved by Karl Darlow before Pedro Porro's goalbound effort was expertly blocked by Pascal Struijk.
Determined to build on those chances, the hosts remained on the front foot as half-time approached, with Joao Palhinha firing wastefully over from 12 yards after great persistence in the box, and Rodrigo Bentancur directing a promising header off target.
The interval did little to stem Tottenham’s growing momentum, and the Lilywhites found the all-important breakthrough in the 50th minute when Tel controlled a loose ball on the edge of the box and swept a sumptuous finish into the top corner beyond Darlow.
Nine of Tottenham’s previous 12 matches had produced over 2.5 goals, and De Zerbi’s men went in pursuit of a quickfire second, as Richarlison skewed a close-range volley over the bar after good work from Randal Kolo Muani.
Despite the hosts’ dominance, Leeds were gifted a golden chance to draw level with time heading into the final 20 minutes after Tel’s attempted overhead kick in his own box caught the face of Ethan Ampadu.
The visitors’ talisman, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, assumed the responsibility from the spot, and the Englishman swept a clinical penalty beyond the reach of Kinský to restore parity.
That moment of madness from Tel turned the game in Leeds’ favour, as substitute Lukas Nmecha was denied by a last-ditch block from Micky van de Ven, albeit from an offside position.
Tottenham looked to respond to the visitors’ fightback, with James Maddison coming off the bench to make his first appearance of the season.
However, it was Leeds who nearly snatched all three points deep into stoppage time when Sean Longstaff’s powerful strike was superbly tipped onto the bar by Kinský.
Late penalty appeals from Maddison were turned down by VAR, seeing the game end all square and ultimately earning what could prove to be a crucial point for Spurs come the end of the season.