Manchester United made it 2-1 less than a minute after Bethany England had equalised for Tottenham
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner said he believes "play acting" from Spurs' Eveliina Summanen led to Ella Toone's sending off in their crucial victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With United leading 2-1 in a nervy affair, England international Toone appeared to hit out at Summanen amid a scramble on the ground, leading to a straight red card.
Summanen appeared to hold her face as the incident occurred in front of the touchline where Skinner was standing.
"We want our players to show passion, commitment and energy," Skinner told Sky Sports.
"It was play acting in my opinion. Obviously, with Ella [Toone] we'll look at that but I want to see that from her - I want to see passion in our players.
"It's something we'll work on internally because we have to be accountable. I will appeal that red card."
United returned to the top of the Women's Super League table after a dramatic and frantic second half in which they took the lead through Leah Galton.
Shortly afterwards, Tottenham's January signing Bethany England scored in a third successive WSL game to make it 1-1, but team-mate Molly Bartrip diverted the ball into her own net less than a minute later.
Toone's sending off followed but, despite the wild turn of events after the hour mark, United held on to claim a crucial victory, restoring their place at the top of the table and a one-point lead over Chelsea, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Tottenham and the side's manager Rehanne Skinner as their losing streak extends to seven WSL matches.
Pressure mounts as tensions run high
Ella Toone was sent off for hitting out at Eveliina Summanen in the second half
United dropped points in a 0-0 draw with Everton last weekend and knew they could not afford to do the same in London this week if they were to keep their title hopes on track.
It was a frustrating first half for the visitors as Tottenham worked tirelessly out of possession and grew into the game as the break approached.
England had an excellent chance to score for Spurs when she was played in by Ashleigh Neville, a constant threat for the hosts, and United came close when Galton fired over the bar.
United came out of the blocks with more fluidity in the second half and Toone struck the outside of the post after captain Katie Zelem whipped a free-kick dangerously wide.
A frantic turn of events followed as Galton capitalised on a smart cross from Ona Batlle and, minutes later, England's superb strike nestled into the far corner: 1-1.
Bartrip, who was in tears at full-time, pulled her shirt over her head immediately after poking Batlle's cross into the roof of her own net seconds later.
With the atmosphere in the stadium dialled up and both sets of players lunging into desperate tackles, Toone's shocking reaction to a scramble with Summanen led to angry reactions from the touchline and on the pitch.
She went straight down the tunnel after being sent off but her team-mates quickly composed themselves to see out an important victory.
Tottenham's players were visibility disappointed at full-time but this was a better performance than they have shown in recent weeks and they tested a United side who have been battling at the top all season.
In England, Spurs have a striker capable of turning games around and they will feel they have enough quality to avoid relegation despite being dragged dangerously close to the bottom.
"We showed belief and confidence from the first whistle to the last," said Rehanne Skinner, asked if she was concerned by the seven-game losing streak.
"Since I came [to Tottenham] we were always on a journey of building a team. The first half of the season didn't go to plan for loads of different reasons.
"We have to start to get pieces of the jigsaw together. We had two great transfers in the window that have helped us move forward. The vision and the goal hasn't changed in that period of time."
