Bringing a Lage sigh of relief

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2022-09-05 -

Premier League, for sure there have been some top strikers in the history of it,” Kane said. “It’s no different now.

“Whoever comes in now wants to make a difference — if they are coming in for Manchester City or Liverpool, they are good strikers.

“But it is a long season. He has started well but there are a lot of games coming up.

“We just need to keep focusing on ourselves and that is all I try to do.”

If anything is going to whet Kane’s appetite, it is the return of Champions League football to White Hart Lane.

“It is part of every player’s career that sometimes you go through stages where you can’t play at the top level where you want to do and that is where we have been for the past couple of years,” Kane said.

“When you are watching the Champions League it is where you want to be and the nights you want.

“It has been a while and we are itching to start the competition well.”

Tom Cairney was left scratching his head after Fulham lost “one of the easier games of the season”.

Improved

The Fulham substitute was part of an improved second half display that left him to describe the Cottagers late rally as “like a bit of a missed opportunity.”

Unlike the other top sides Fulham have played so far — such as Liverpool and Arsenal, with Chelsea to come next week — Spurs are not as effective at shutting down the opposition.

“The feeling I got on the bench, and the manager said it at half time, is that this is one of the easier games of the season on the ball, as weird as that sounds,” Cairney said.

“They have incredible talent and when they have the ball they are amazing on the counter. I just felt we could have been better in possession.

“They deserved to win the game but the way it felt in the last 25 minutes we could have got something.”

SPURS (3-4-3): Lloris 7, Romero 6, Dier 6, Lenglet 6; Royal 6, Bentancur 6, Hojbjerg 7, Sessegnon 8; Richarlison 8, Kane 8 (Kulusevski 78), Son 6 (Perisic 84). Subs:

Forster, Doherty, Skipp, Sanchez, Kulusevski, Tanganga, Davies, Bissouma.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno 7; Tete 6, Tosin 6, Ream 6, Robinson 5 (Mbabu 28, 6); Reed 6, Palhinha 6 (Vinicius 85); De Cordova-Reid 5 (James 61, 5), Pereira 6 (Cairney 61, 6), Kebano 6 (Willian 61, 6); Mitrovic 7. Subs: Rodak, Duffy, Chalobah, Diop. REFEREE: Stuart Atwell 7

JORDAN PICKFORD, so often the villain of the peace against Liverpool, enjoyed a Merseyside derby day of defiance.

The Everton keeper has made some calamitous errors against their city rivals in recent seasons, crucial miscalculations at key points as the Reds have enjoyed the upper hand in the neighbourly bragging stakes.

But this was a performance to remind everyone why he so highly thought of by England manager Gareth Southgate.

With the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope and Dean Henderson pushing hard for the England No.1 jersey, Pickford stood tall to keep Liverpool at bay.

He made eight saves to deny Jurgen Klopp’s charges and earn his side a huge point in an end-to-end Merseyside derby.

But rather than be worried by the early-season form of his fellow international keepers, Pickford is loving it. “I focus on myself but I’m also happy for the other keepers that I know — you say the GK union,” said Pickford. “You class them as friends and rivals because everyone wants the shirt but I’m happy to see them doing well. I’d like to say they’d say the same about me.

“As long as everyone is doing well you push each other for the England setup. It’s good that you have a lot of English keepers doing well. It pushes everyone on. “You strive to be the best you can be as an individual and as a goalkeeper.

THE cries of ‘Bruno, Bruno’ from the stand came more in relief than as a no-holds-barred endorsement of the Wolves manager.

After all, this was the first Premier League victory the home fans had enjoyed since the beginning of April, 12 long games ago.

No wonder Bruno Lage lapped it up as he donned his Jurgen Klopp persona with a fist to the chest, one that would have been beating