Kane ends August drought as Spurs enjoy ‘home’ comforts
Leicester see off Wolves 2-0 despite Vardy red card
LONDON: Harry Kane ended his hoodoo of failing to find the net in August as Tottenham made themselves at home at Wembley by beating Fulham 3-1 yesterday to move top of the Premier League. Bournemouth are the only other side to so far take maximum points from their opening two games as Eddie Howe’s men came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham. Everton’s £50-million signing Richarlison continued to quieten queries of his price tag with the winner as Southampton were defeated 2-1 at Goodison Park, while Leicester saw off Wolves 2-0 despite a red card for Jamie Vardy. The game of the day sees London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal face off at Stamford Bridge in an earlyseason test for new managers Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery. After becoming the first Premier League side since the introduction of the summer transfer window to fail to sign a player, Spurs were dealt another blow off the field in midweek with the news their new 62,000-capacity stadium won’t be ready until at least October.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men will therefore host another two home fixtures against Cardiff and Liverpool at Wembley. But after a slow start at their temporary home last season, Tottenham have a good record at Wembley and picked up another three points despite being fully tested by newly-promoted Fulham. Lucas Moura curled home his first Premier League goal to give Spurs the lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic deservedly headed Fulham level early in the second half.
World Cup stars shine
Tottenham may still be suffering a World Cup hangover with the majority of their stars enjoying barely a week of pre-season training after their efforts in Russia. But it was two of England’s World Cup heroes who produced the goods as Kieran Trippier curled home a wonderful free-kick before Kane finally ended his wait to score in the opening month of the season at the 15th attempt in the Premier League. “We dominated the first 30 minutes and created a lot of chances, but in the Premier League if you drop your level it can let in the other team,” Pochettino said.
“Overall we were much better and deserved the three points, but we still need to improve. “We conceded too many chances. In possession we played well, but we need to be more focused without the ball.” In contrast to Spurs, West Ham splurged nearly £100 million in the transfer market to back new manager Manuel Pellegrini but still have no points to show for it after a second-half surrender to Bournemouth. Marko Arnautovic’s penalty gave the hosts a half-time lead. Two goals in six minutes turned the game on its head, though, as Callum Wilson and Steve Cook made it two wins from two for the Cherries.
Everton’s revolution under Marco Silva gained more momentum at Goodison with Richarlison scoring his third goal in two games. A well-worked free-kick freed up Theo Walcott to open the scoring before the Brazilian headed home a Walcott cross to double Everton’s advantage. Wolves shared the points in a fourgoal thriller with Everton last weekend, but despite much hype and expectation after a summer of heavy investment, they remain winless after losing 2-0 at 10man
Everton thump Southampton
Leicester. A spectacular own goal from Matt Doherty and a deflected James Maddison strike put the Foxes in command.
However, victory came at a cost for Leicester as England international Vardy was shown a straight red card 20 minutes from time for a late lunge on Doherty and now faces a three-game ban. Cardiff and Newcastle both registered their first point of the season in a drab 0-0 draw in the Welsh capital in a missed opportunity for both sides. The visitors played the final half-hour with 10 men after Isaac Hayden was dismissed, but still had the best chance to take all three points when Kenedy’s 96th-minute penalty was saved by Neil Etheridge.—AFP