Image Credit: Tottenham Hotspur
By Lee Clow
07 February 2021 | Premier League
Tottenham returned to winning ways in the Premier League as they battled through a resilient West Bromwich Albion side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Goals from the returning Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son ended a run of three consecutive defeats in the Premier League for Spurs as they showed their class against a struggling Baggies side.
Before kick off, many fans were shocked to see Kane back in the Spurs starting 11. The England star picked up two ankle injuries against Liverpool less than two weeks ago, but the striker miraculously recovered ahead of schedule.
The game started very brightly with both sides looking sharp and playing the ball quickly in attack.
Son saw his shot saved by Sam Johnstone and Erik Lamela fired over in the opening 10 minutes, as Spurs showed a huge improvement from the past couple of games where they lacked any kind of creativity and flair.
On 14 minutes, the returning Kane had his first chance as he linked up well with the bright Lamela. The Spurs striker picked the ball up outside the area before striking towards goal, but his shot rattled the crossbar having not cleanly struck the ball.
Minutes later, Kane was given another great opportunity as an intended ball to Son, found its way through. Upon receiving the ball, Kane shot across goal, but his effort agonisingly fell wide of the goal.
The home side continued to assert their dominance again as Kane was given his third chance in as many minutes. Kane picked up the ball from Lamela, after some great work by Serge Aurier, before striking on goal, but the West Brom defence snuffed the chance out well.
After another huge spell of pressure, Spurs came close again through Kane’s strike. Spurs’ number 10 managed to create a yard of space for himself, before striking hard towards goal, but Johnstone was there once again to parry the shot.
Minutes before half time, Tottenham did everything but score as Johnstone was there to deny the home side once again. A corner from Son found its way to Aurier in the box, who looked certain to score, but the former Manchester United man in net did excellently to push the attempt out.
Having defended all the way through the first half, West Brom almost did the unthinkable and score right on half time. A lovely cross into the box was met by the head of Mbaye Diane, but luckily for Spurs, Hugo Lloris got down well to stop the ball crossing the line.
The teams went into the break level, with the home side having done everything but score, while the visitors showed their resilience in defence.
In the second half, the pattern of play resumed as Spurs saw most of the ball.
Eight minutes into the half, Tottenham finally broke the deadlock and through no one else but Kane. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg superbly picked out the Spurs forward with a slick pass, allowing Kane to control and shift the ball onto his right foot, before sliding the ball into the back of the net giving the home side a much deserved lead. Kane’s goal means he is now Spurs’ joint second overall top goal scorer with 208 goals, only 58 away from Jimmy Greaves, who holds the title.
Minutes later, Spurs scored a second goal after a fantastic break involving Lucas Moura. Moura, who had a rare start in the Premier League, carried the ball excellently, before releasing Son who fired home past Johnstone, who was unable get a strong enough hand to divert the South Korean’ strike away.
Following the goal, it was now West Brom who had the ball in the back of the net as they looked to have half the deficit within minutes. From a Robert Snograss cross, Diagne managed to squeeze his header under Lloris in goal, but the linesman raised his flag ruling the goal to be offside.
Late in the half, Diagne had the ball in the back of net once again, but luckily for Spurs the same fortune occurred for the West Brom striker as the flag was raised.
Despite the two offside goals, Jose Mourinho’s side controlled the remainder of the game well and even included a brief cameo appearance from 16 year old Dane Scarlett, which capped off a great return to victory.
The much needed result for Spurs lifts them up into seventh in the table, only four points off the top four. For Sam Allardyce’s side, the misery continues as they sit 19th in the table and eight points off safety.
What’s next?
After finally returning to winning ways, Tottenham next play Everton at Goodison Park in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday. Spurs’ next Premier League fixture is on Saturday as they have a huge test against league leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
West Brom return home for their next fixture as they take on the other side of Manchester on Sunday.
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