SOUTHAMPTON
FROM the moment he won the penalty, it was clear Dele Alli decided the answer to Who Was Going To Replace Harry Kane? is: “Me.”
Christian Eriksen briefly questioned his team-mate’s authority to stand in for Kane as official spot-kick taker, but soon backed down as he saw how firmly the 20-year-old was clutching the ball to his chest.
Sure enough, Alli secured a remarkable 17th goal of the season from the penalty spot.
Kane tweeted his delight at the victory, “Yes boys!! Great result! Good victory before the break! I much prefer being on the pitch than watching it!”
And he might have to get used to seeing Alli step even further into his shoes. When Mauricio Pochettino took off Son HeungMin late in the game, it was Alli who suddenly found himself asked to lead the line.
“In the box he looks like a striker because he is more than clever and he has made his mark,” Pochettino said.
“Outside the box, he plays like a midfielder. I don’t know, always he can surprise me, maybe one day he can play like a goalkeeper or a full-back or a centre-back! He has an unbelievable personality and character and everything is possible with him. So for me it’s OK he insisted on taking the penalty.
“It’s good you have on the pitch players that want to take that responsibility, fantastic.
“When there is no Harry Kane, for me anyone can take the penalty.”
It was the first time in seven attempts that Tottenham have beaten a top-flight side in Kane’s absence, and with Vincent Janssen also given a run-out in his position for the final minutes, it would be wrong to say he was not missed.
For the second game in a row, Tottenham made heavy weather of a home win they should have claimed at a canter having secured two early goals.
“It was a great opportunity to win and you will always miss your main striker,” Pochettino added. “We must do what we can while he is injured. It was important to us to get that feeling – win the game, score goals and keep our position in the table with three very important points.
“But we also need to improve on that, score the third and the fourth and finish off the games.
“We were much better than Southampton but we allowed them to believe.”
At the start, Tottenham were at their swaggering best. With the lackadaisical simplicity of a training-ground finishing exercise, Eriksen swept the ball into the corner with his left foot before 14 minutes were up.
That said, Southampton had their chances. Manolo Gabbiadini had found the back of the net in each of his first three Premier League matches; this time he could only manage the side of it when he shot narrowly wide after 26 minutes, injuring his groin in the process.