GAZZA’S BACK AT WEMBLEY, HIS KNEES HAVE GONE ALL TREMBLY
(No wonder . . . he saw a Kane and Vardy-inspired nine-goal thriller!)
WHAT an utterly enthralling 90 minutes of entertainment. Does the season really have to end?
The players were gasping for air at full time and they weren’t the only ones. This thrilling game of football left the whole of Wembley breathless.
In the end, Tottenham and Leicester shared nine goals, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side edging out their visitors by a solitary strike.
But, and this is not an exaggeration, there could have been double that number of goals.
The attacking play was dazzling, the defending was dire. Who cares? What. A. Game.
Harry Kane emerged as the hero — conjuring a superb winner with his 41st Tottenham goal of the season after the excellent Jamie Vardy had made it four apiece.
But to single out Kane would be unfair. Erik Lamela and Vardy scored twice, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Riyad Mahrez, who also notched a goal, bagged two assists each.
Claude Puel’s side more than played their part. The question now is whether Puel will return next season.
If there was ever an afternoon to go through the motions, it was surely yesterday. Jan Vertonghen’s withdrawal with a calf injury during the warm-up served as a warning to those with aspirations of going to Russia in a few weeks that one foot out of place could have heartbreaking consequences.
But both sets of players ended the season by serving up a scintillating game of football.
The Spurs fans roared ‘ Tottenham’s going home’ to the tune of
Three Lions as they bade farewell to Wembley ahead of the move to the £1billion White Hart Lane.
And they will leave the national stadium with great memories. Victories over Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal will be recalled with great fondness. So will this treat of a match.
Not that it got off to a positive start for Mauricio Pochettino’s men as Leicester took a fourth-minute lead when Vardy glanced Mahrez’s free-kick past Hugo Lloris.
The defending was non-existent, but we got used to that.
Indeed, three minutes later Tottenham were level as Kane pounced on Danny Simpson’s error to stroke home his 29th Premier League goal of the season — incredible, considering he has spent two spells on the sidelines through injury.
We hardly had time to catch our breath before Leicester regained the lead, this time with Mahrez firing home following some intricate play involving Vardy and Demarai Gray. Wembley was stunned. If it hadn’t been for Lloris, Leicester would have been further ahead at the break. The Frenchman saved his ambling defence, which featured Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose for perhaps the final time, with saves from Gray and Vardy.
A smattering of boos rang around Wembley at half-time as the home crowd showed their frustration at being behind. But the jeers were unnecessary, that first half had been enthralling.
The introduction of Tottenham legend Paul Gascoigne on the pitch at half-time lifted spirits, but even Gazza’s magical influence couldn’t top what was to follow.
The fans surely could not imagine that the second period was going to be better than the first. Well, it was. Six goals better, to be precise.
Spurs looked buried in the 47th minute as Kelechi Iheanacho fired a rocket past Lloris after holding off Moussa Sissoko to increase the Leicester lead to 3-1.
But Tottenham produced a brilliant fightback, scoring three goals in nine minutes to blitz Leicester.
First, Lamela tapped home Walker-Peters’s cross in the 49th minute, then the Argentine saw his scrappy effort fly past Eldin Jakupovic to level for Spurs at 3-3 after deflections off Harry Maguire and Christian Fuchs.
And then, in the 60th minute, Lamela notched his second by firing home another Walker-Peters cross after Gray’s calamitous attempts to control the ball with his chest.
Somehow, Leicester mustered another response as Vardy smashed home his second goal of the game in the 73rd minute following a move that had started with Kane losing possession in his own box. Amazingly, it was now 4-4.
Inevitably, however, it was Kane who struck last for Spurs — curling home a 76th-minute winner after bamboozling youngster Hamza Choudhury.
Even then Leicester missed chances to make it 5-5, with Vardy squandering one final opportunity in stoppage time.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-2-3-1): Lloris 5;5; Walker-Peters 7, Alderweireld 4, Dier 4,4, Rose 5; Wanyama 5, Sissoko 6 (Son 84);; Lamela 7.5 (Sanchez 78), Eriksen 7, Moura 7.5 (Alli 74, 6); Kane 8. Subs not used: Vorm, Llorente, Foyth, Davies. Scorers: Kane 7, 76, Lamela 49, 60, Fuchs 53 og). Booked: Wanyama. Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 7.5. LEICESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Jakupovic 4; Simpson 4 (Choudhury 56, 6), Morgan 5, Maguire 5, Fuchs 4; Iborra 6, Silva 6; Mahrez 8, Iheanacho 7.5 (Barnes 85), Gray 6 (Diabate 61, 6); VARDY 8.5. Subs not used: Hamer, Benalouane, Ndukwu, Hughes. Scorers: Vardy 4, 73, Mahrez 16, Iheanachocho 47. Booked: Silva, Choudhury. Manager: Claude Puel 6.5. Referee: Craig Pawson 6. Attendance: 77,841.