Four-goal Kane strikes gold
LEICESTER 1-6 TOTTENHAM
The race for the Premier League title was over weeks ago but Harry Kane has surely reclaimed the Golden Boot.
Kane added four goals to this season’s collection at the King Power Stadium, taking him ahead of closest rival Romelu Lukaku, of Everton, and it seems inevitable he will finish the season with something for the trophy cabinet.
He is now on 26 league goals, two ahead of Lukaku, with a trip to relegated Hull City on Sunday, and Mauricio Pochettino must be reflecting on how damaging the Tottenham and Englands striker’s absence has been to their title challenge. Kane has even missed eight games through injury yet few would bet against him claiming the award for the second successive season.
His stunning haul here was the highlight of another ruthless, relentless display from Spurs, as the home side were blown away in an uncomfortable night for Craig Shakespeare.
His team have been depleted by injuries but Spurs have not lost at Leicester since the days of Filbert Street and this was emphatic, only heightening the sense of what might have been for Pochettino
“Harry is our main striker and he is one of the best in the world,” said the Spurs head coach. “He has chances to score again at Hull and I expect him to win [the Golden Boot]. It is fantastic for him. It is a season again where he fights to be the top scorer in the Premier League.
“We were talking a lot about last season when we finished so badly. During the whole season we’ve been talking about improving and learning and this type of performance shows that the team is improving and has learnt a lot from last season.”
Just three weeks ago this game had all the makings of a pivotal night in the season, with Pochettino chasing Chelsea for the league title. But that wimpish performance at West Ham on May 5, and a 1-0 defeat, ended any lingering hopes of Spurs bidding farewell to White Hart Lane with a trophy.
Nobody told Spurs, or Kane, this was a dead rubber though. They are already guaranteed second place but were razor sharp, clinical and typically resilient. Last season’s champions endured a chastening evening, with the absence of captain Wes Morgan, Robert Huth and Danny Drinkwater through injury proving too costly.
Leicester could reasonably point to a missed chance from Jamie Vardy early in the game as a crucial moment. Vardy has been revitalised under Claudio Ranieri’s former No2 and he had the first chance, shooting straight at Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from a decent position after he was sent clear by Riyad Mahrez.
It was an opportunity Vardy would regret wasting, for Spurs took the lead in the 25th minute after a typically fluid counter-attack. Toby Alderweireld’s lofted pass was misjudged by Christian Fuchs, allowing Son Heung-min to scamper into the penalty area. The South Korean was given far too much room to find Kane, who timed his run perfectly to slide the ball into the corner.
Spurs were now in total control, Kane frequently outwitting Leicester defender Yohan Benalouane, who was later taken off, and they increased their lead with a brilliant goal nine minutes before half-time. This time it was an exquisite chip on the edge of the area from Dele Alli, with Son turning to hook his shot past Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.
Leicester were in danger of being blown away but briefly threatened a response in the second half after a period of pressure. The goal did come, in the 59th minute, after Vardy finally broke clear of the Spurs offside trap. Wilfred Ndidi sent Vardy clear and Lloris rushed out of his area, failing to connect properly with his clearance. The ball squirmed to Ben Chilwell, who was 20 yards out and the youngster ambled into the area coolly to pick his spot.
Yet any hopes of a comeback evaporated four minutes later.
Alderweireld’s cross to the far post was headed back across goal by Victor Wanyama and there was Kane with a simple header from two yards.
Son claimed a fourth goal in the 71st minute with another piece of individual brilliance, cleverly bypassing Ndidi with a dragback to bend a shot into the corner.
Kane then signed off in style, adding two late goals from an almost identical position to inflict a heavy defeat on Shakespeare, who will meet the Leicester hierarchy next week to discover if he has landed the job.
“To be beaten by that score
hurts,” Shakespeare said. “They are an excellent side, I knew that before the game, but we were totally second best.
“The disappointing thing was when we conceded the third goal, it drained us of any belief, we didn’t see enough desire from my team and they looked like scoring every time. There are no positives. If you get beaten 6-1 there are no positives.”