Mauricio hails ‘unbelievable’ striker Harry
MAURICIO POCHETTINO believes Harry Kane can break the number of Premier League goals scored in one season following his second-half brace in Tottenham’s 4-0 dismantling of Everton on Saturday.
Kane bagged his 97th and 98th top-flight goals for Spurs against a worryingly off-colour Everton to surpass Teddy Sheringham as the north London club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League.
The England international now has 20 goals this term to leave him just 11 shy of the leading number of strikes in a 38-game Premier League season — a record held by Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez — and 14 away from Andy Cole and Shearer’s joint haul of 34 during a 42-match campaign.
Asked if Kane could break the record with 15 games still to play, Pochettino said: ‘He can do everything because of his mentality and how he is as a professional. He can achieve all he wishes and he wants.
‘It is unbelievable the way that he is able to work and his willingness to do it.
‘He is always thinking to try to improve, improve, improve, score goals and improve for the team.
‘His mentality is always collective and that is always important to explain. He has scored a lot of goals but his mentality is to help the team, work for the team, and that is what makes him a special player.’
Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Tottenham at Wembley with his fifth consecutive home league goal — the first Spurs player to do so since Jermain Defoe back in 2004 — before the inform Kane doubled their lead moments after the interval.
Kane was on hand to tap home his second of the night shortly before the hour mark with Christian Eriksen completing the rout in the closing stages.
Spurs headed into the match on a 10-game unbeaten streak at home and knew that a victory would leave them just three points behind Chelsea, who recorded a goalless draw against 10-man Leicester, and level with Liverpool, who host Manchester City today
If Liverpool lose to City this afternoon then Pochettino’s side will leapfrog the Mereysiders into fourth place.
Reflecting on his new record, Kane, 24, told reporters after the game: ‘I always say, it is something I’m very proud of but it’s on to the next one, we’ve got to keep going.
‘These boys are great, they set me up and we’ve got to keep going and winning games. Hopefully I’ll keep scoring.’
For all of Tottenham’s brilliance, Everton failed to register a single shot on target and — following a strong start under Sam Allardyce— they are now without a win from their last six matches.
Wayne Rooney thought he had opened the scoring for the Toffees only for his header to be correctly disallowed for offside. Allardyce felt Kane’s opening goal could also have been ruled out.
‘The disappointing thing for us is, what would the game have finished like had we scored the first goal when Wayne’s got disallowed?’ Allardyce said.
‘Or what would the game have gone like if Harry’s goal would have been disallowed — because I think it’s offside looking on the laptop.
‘What I can’t excuse is out capitulation after we went 2-0 down.
‘But for Jordan Pickford they would have had more goals today and I’m hugely disappointed in the professionalism of my players.’
Bolasie behind him, should be a forward line with which to be reckoned. It combines goals, craft, experience and speed. Certainly Ronald Koeman, denied Bolasie through injury and a centre forward because of transfer failures, would have liked to have started with a front four resembling this.
Yet there was little chance to judge them in that first half as Tottenham enjoyed chance after chance. There was an Eriksen freekick in the 15th minute which was whipped in and met by Son’s head but diverted sharply over the bar. And there was a Kane strike in the 22nd minute saved by Jordan Pickford. Given their superiority, they might have expected more.
No matter. They put things right early in the second half. Again, there was a degree of chaos among Everton’s defenders. Jonjoe Kenny raced out to cut off Son, who was launching a counter attack. Yet he over-ran himself, allowing Son to slip past and advance into space.
Again Everton were caught on the back foot. Son measured his cross and Kane met it from three yards to extend the lead. And Everton were overwhelmed again in the 52nd minute as Son advanced through midfield and played in Alli, who shot cleanly but hit the side netting.
Two minutes later there was space in abundance yet again as Kane strolled through midfield to shoot from long range, prompting Pickford to parry the ball away. In the 58th minute a lovely Aurier pass found Son, whose quick and powerful strike rebounded off the post. Everton had no response.
A third goal was inevitable. It came just a minute later when Eric Dier swung in a cross and Mason Holgate could only watch as Kane ghosted past him and finished from close range, overtaking Teddy Sheringham as the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer on 98.
A fourth would come, the only surprise being that it took until the 82nd minute. Pickford was largely responsible, his double save in the 77th minute from Son and Alli the equivalent of holding the fort on his own against a clinical assault.
It could not last and, finally, Son cut across goal, played in Alli who, with an audacious back heel, found Eriksen, who swept the ball home.