Two goals from Gareth Bale and one from Rafael van der Vaart gave Tottenham Hotspur a 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers in a cracking London English Premier League derby at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Spurs extended their unbeaten League run to seven matches with a superb first-half performance and a gritty rearguard action as QPR made a game of it after being outclassed in the opening 45 minutes.

Spurs led at the break through an angled drive from Bale after 20 minutes and an opportunistic effort from Van der Vaart, who scored for the fifth successive league match to equal a club record shared by Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Keane in the Premier League era.

QPR hit back when substitute Jay Bothroyd headed in his first goal for the club to make it 2-1 after 62 minutes and maintained the upper hand for a spell, before visibly wilting after Bale added his second goal

The Wales international produced a stunning strike from the edge of the box after 72 minutes following a brilliant exchange of passes with Aaron Lennon.

"I thought Spurs were fabulous and at halftime it would have been easy just to think how many they were going to get, so I decided to make changes and we came back strongly after showing them too much respect," QPR manager Neil Warnock said.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said his side should have been 4-0 or 5-0 ahead at halftime. "But then when you find yourselves only 2-1 up, it's difficult," he said. "But we finished it off with Gareth's goal to keep this great run going, I am delighted."

Warnock also praised his defender Anton Ferdinand, who has admitted enduring a stressful week after being the unwitting victim of an alleged racist slur from England captain John Terry during last weekend's match against Chelsea at Loftus Road.

The alleged insult was shown on YouTube and has prompted a probe by the FA with the Metropolitan Police also showing an interest. Terry has denied the allegations.

Great character

"Anton showed great character today and did not put a foot wrong," said Warnock whose promoted team lies 12th. "I thought he was the man of the match."

The win lifted Spurs up to fifth spot on 19 points from nine matches, level with third-placed Chelsea, which lost 3-5 to Arsenal on Saturday, and Newcastle United.

Manchester City, which beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 on Saturday, leads the way with 28 points, five clear of Manchester United, 1-0 winner at Everton.

Newcastle will move above Chelsea if it can maintain its unbeaten League record at Stoke City later yesterday.

Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard will know by the middle of this week whether he faces another lengthy layoff or will be back in action for Liverpool soon after being diagnosed with an infected ankle.

The 31-year-old Liverpool skipper has only recently returned to the side after being out with a groin injury for six months but missed Saturday's 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion with this new, unrelated problem.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said he was not sure when Gerrard would return. "I haven't got a clue. It's nothing to do with any injuries before, it's an infection."

Yesterday's newspapers carried photos of Gerrard leaving hospital on crutches with his right leg in bandage.