Spurs reduce Leicester City’s lead at the top to just five points after a brace apiece from England stars Dele Alli and Harry Kane help bury Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
“We’re coming for you! We’re coming for you! Leicester City, we’re coming for you!”
Those were the chants raining down from the stands at the Britannia Stadium after Tottenham Hotspur handed Stoke City a spanking to close the gap to only five points at the top of the Premier League.
The Britannia Stadium is tough place to play, and Stoke came into the match unbeaten in three against Spurs, winning two and coming back from two goals down to grab a draw at White Hart Lane in August.
Leicester City dropped two points on Sunday, and will face Swansea at the weekend without their top man Jamie Vardy. News reports suggest he may also miss the match against Man Utd because of the level of abuse he spat into the face of Jonathan Moss before leaving the pitch after his controversial sending off.
So Spurs knew they had a great chance to apply even more pressure onto Claudio Ranieri’s men if they beat Stoke. They were on a six-match unbeaten streak containing four wins and two draws. Meanwhile, Stoke received a tanning from Liverpool 4-1 in their last game.
If Jamie Vardy is like gold dust to Leicester City then how do you put a price on the importance of Harry Kane to Spurs? In the past two years, he has gone from being farmed out on loan to being one of the greatest strikers in the world. It took him only nine minutes to remind everyone why he receives those accolades with a trademark curler into the bottom right-hand corner to hand Spurs the lead.
It should have been two-nil at half time after a cute flick by Dele Alli sent Christian Eriksen through on goal with only Shay Given to beat, but the Dane never took his eyes off the ball and blasted it against the crossbar, when it looked easier to score.
Spurs came out of firing in the second half. Stoke had one of those days. Danny Rose was through on goal in the 48th minute, but he lost his footing at the vital time, and Erik Lamela saw his smart shot saved by Given in the 56th minute.
Then a moment of magic from Eriksen when he sent Alli through on goal with a superlative ball from the middle of the park in the 67th minute. Alli brought the ball down with his first touch and lifted it over Given with his second to give Spurs a two-goal lead.
Alli’s goal sparked something anew in Spurs. Two minutes later and Alli had his manager on his knees, punching the floor in frustration after the favorite to win the Professional Football Association’s (PFA) Young Player of the Year award, rounded Given only to hit the post with an empty goal staring him in the face.
A minute later and Alli’s miss was nothing but a distant memory. Spurs broke at speed from a Stoke corner, and seconds later the ball was in the back of the net after a three touch move involving Alli, Lamela, and that man Kane. It was Kane’s 24th Premier League goal of the season – two more than Jamie Vardy.
Stoke looked a pale shadow of the team that has served Mark Hughes so well this season. Eriksen waltzed through the Stoke defence nine minutes before time before chipping the ball to Alli, who volleyed home from the edge of the box prompting the traveling Spurs fans to break into their final song of the evening, and it was the same one they began the night with.
“We’re coming for you! We’re coming for you! Leicester City, we’re coming for you!”
Premier League Title Winning Odds
Leicester City 4/9
Spurs 7/4
Next Matches
Leicester v Swansea (Sun, 24 April)
Spurs v West Brom (Mon, 25 April)
Premier League Standings (After 34 Games)
1st. Leicester – 73 pts.
2nd. Spurs – 68 pts.
3rd. Man City – 60 pts.
4th. Arsenal – 60 pts.
5th. Man Utd – 56 pts.
6th. West Ham – 53 pts.
7th. Southampton – 51 pts.
8th. Liverpool – 51 pts.
9th. Stoke – 47 pts.
10th. Chelsea – 44 pts.
11th. Everton – 41 pts.
12th. Watford – 41 pts.
13th. Bournemouth – 41 pts.
14th. West Brom – 40 pts.
15th. Swansea – 40 pts.
16th. Crystal Palace – 39 pts.
17th. Norwich – 31 pts.
18th. Sunderland – 30 pts.
19th. Newcastle – 28 pts.
20th. Aston Villa – 16 pts.
