We learned from Spurs vs Everton
Kane keeps getting better and better
HIS first goal saw him level a Tottenham Hotspur record, and his second saw him break it. After rather clumsily prodding the ball past Jordan Pickford at the far post for Tottenham’s third, it was official: Kane is the club’s highest ever goal-scorer in the Premier League, with 98 goals.
It seems as though he is writing himself into the history books every single week at present. Not content with ending 2017 as the top goal-scorer across Europe’s top five leagues – with two more than Lionel Messi (54) and one more than Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani (53) – Kane has extended his sensational form into the new year, with his brace seeing him surpass Teddy Sheringham’s long-standing club record.
Should he resist the temptation of a big money move to sunnier climes, Kane can realistically hope to break every single record in the book.
Son maintains his streak
The South Korean forward has been utterly superb for Spurs in recent weeks, and his first-half goal against Everton marked the fifth consecutive home game he has hit the back of the net – a feat only Defoe had previously achieved for the club.
His goal was a real predator’s finish but even better was his starring role in Tottenham’s second. Dragging the ball around Jonjoe Kenny on the turn, Son then strode into the penalty area before whipping the ball into the feet of Kane, who made no mistake from the edge of the six-yard box.
Tosun impresses in bursts
This was always going to be a difficult game for Cenk Tosun, Everton’s new £27m signing who only arrived at the club last week. And before the game Sam Allardyce readily admitted that the Turkey international will need time to adjust his game to the Premier League.
Tosun may not have scored against CHAMPIONSHIP: Barnsley 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Birmingham 0 Derby County 3, Brentford 2 Bolton 0, Bristol City 0 Norwich 1, Burton 1 QPR 3, Cardiff 4 Sunderland 0, Hull 0 Reading 0, Ipswich Town 1 Leeds United 0, Middlesbrough 0 Fulham 1, Millwall 1 Preston North End 1, Nottingham Forest 0 Aston Villa 1, Sheff Utd 0 Sheff Wed 0.
Wolves Derby County Cardiff City Aston Villa Bristol City Sheffield Utd Leeds Fulham Mid’boro Preston Brentford Ipswich Norwich QPR Nottm Forest Millwall Sheff Wed Reading Barnsley Hull Bolton Burton Albion Birmingham Sunderland Tottenham but he impressed in flashes, especially considering how isolated he was for much of the game. Strong, crafty and more than capable of holding the ball up with his back to goal, he will be vital for Everton going forward.
Dembele back to something approaching his best
Mousa Dembele has had a difficult season. Ever since he was first pushed back into a defensive midfield position, during the 2015/16 season, the Belgian has been one of Tottenham’s best players, but over the last few weeks a combination of poor form and the fact he has only been half-fit has seen the midfielder struggle.
Exactly how much longer he has at the top remains to be seen, but this was a vintage Dembele performance, as he repeatedly twisted and turned his way around Everton’s midfield and generally made a nuisance of P W D L F A Pts 27 19 5 3 50 20 62 27 15 7 5 44 23 52 27 15 5 7 40 25 50 27 13 8 6 39 24 47 27 13 8 6 40 32 47 27 13 4 10 40 31 43 27 13 4 10 37 29 43 27 11 9 7 40 34 42 27 12 5 10 35 27 41 27 10 11 6 31 27 41 27 10 10 7 41 35 40 27 12 3 12 40 39 39 27 10 7 10 27 31 37 27 8 9 10 31 37 33 27 10 2 15 33 43 32 27 7 10 10 29 30 31 27 7 10 10 30 34 31 27 7 8 12 30 35 29 27 6 9 12 27 37 27 27 5 10 12 39 44 25 27 6 7 14 25 45 25 27 6 6 15 21 46 24 27 6 5 16 15 38 23 27 4 10 13 29 47 22 himself in the middle of the park. His display shows that he should not be written off just yet.
Tottenham successfully target Cuco Martina
The warning signs were there for Everton early on. With just a few minutes on the clock, Ben Davies floated a long pass onto the opposite flank, inviting Serge Aurier to burst forward and put pressure on Cuco Martina. It was a tactic Tottenham utilised often.
And with good reason. Martina much prefers playing on the left and seriously struggled in his inverted right-back role. His performance will draw plenty of criticism – but why did Allardyce play him there? And why didn’t he change either the player or the system when it became clear how out of his depth he was? LA LIGA: (Gameiro 27), (Fornals 87), (Stuani 24-pen, Olunga 57, 70, 79, Borja Garcia 63, Portu 74)
(Andone 88) (Guedes 37, Rodrigo 64), (Cala 73) Barcelona Atletico Valencia Real Madrid Villarreal Sevilla Eibar Getafe Girona Bilbao Leganes Real Betis Sociedad Espanyol Celta Vigo Levante Deportivo Alaves Malaga Las Palmas P W D L F A Pts 18 15 3 0 48 7 48 19 12 6 1 28 8 42 19 12 4 3 40 19 40 18 9 5 4 32 17 32 19 9 4 6 26 21 31 18 9 2 7 23 27 29 19 8 3 8 24 31 27 19 7 5 7 23 18 26 19 7 5 7 28 28 26 18 6 6 6 20 19 24 17 7 3 7 13 14 24 18 7 3 8 30 34 24 18 6 5 7 31 30 23 18 6 5 7 15 21 23 18 6 4 8 32 27 22 18 3 9 6 15 25 18 19 4 4 11 21 37 16 18 5 0 13 13 27 15 19 3 2 14 13 33 11 19 3 2 14 14 46 11
BUNDESLIGA: (Gebre Selassie 63) (Huebner 39), (Haller 28) (Koch 51), (Koo 45) (Fuel- lkrug 33, 38-pen, 75) (Muto 26, Hack 31), (Stark 78-og)
(Keita 41, Werner 69, Bruma 71) (Naldo 55),
(Volland 71) (Martinez 32, Ribery 59, Rodriguez 90+1). P W D L F A Pts 18 14 2 2 40 12 44 18 9 4 5 30 26 31 18 8 6 4 29 24 30 17 8 4 5 39 24 28 18 7 7 4 35 26 28 17 8 4 5 27 28 28 18 7 6 5 28 23 27 18 7 6 5 28 23 27 18 7 6 5 21 19 27 18 7 5 6 27 28 26 18 6 6 6 26 26 24 18 6 2 10 14 21 20 18 4 8 6 18 32 20 17 3 10 4 21 21 19 18 4 5 9 21 31 17 18 3 7 8 14 21 16 18 4 3 11 15 26 15 17 1 3 13 10 32 6 Bayern RB Leipzig Schalke 04 Dortmund Leverkusen M’gladbach Augsburg Hoffenheim Frankfurt Hanover 96 Hertha Berlin Stuttgart Freiburg Wolfsburg Mainz 05 Bremen Hamburg Cologne
LIGUE 1: (Germain 35, Sanson 45, Thauvin 82), (Tavares 1) (Roux 89), (Lees-Melou 66) (Laborde (Pepe 43), (Salibur 15), 8, Benezet 16).