SPORT IN BRIEF

Alli sets up Tottenham to show they can win without star Kane

recovered from his elbow operation, but he shot tamely wide. Just before half-time Spurs finally rediscovered their scoring touch.

The impressive Giovani Lo Celso won the ball just outside the Norwich area, Son fed it wide to Serge Aurier and Dele Alli finally made the kind of near-post run required to meet the ball and nudge it over the line.

Nobody is suggesting that the Canaries are going down without a fight, however – although Cantwell showed a bit too much at times.

Having already escaped a VAR red card referral for a spiky challenge on Lamela, his over-exuberance in trying to scramble in a Norwich half-chance left Harry Winks crocked. There was much less malice in Ryan Sessegnon’s challenge on Max Aarons after 69 minutes, but there was clear contact – as VAR took an age to confirm before Pukki squeezed the ball into the net via Lloris’s glove and the post.

But for once, Tottenham were not finished. Lo Celso was again the inspiration, sliding the ball in for Alli beautifully. His shot from a tight angle looped in the air off the leg of Christoph Zimmermann and Son was perfectly placed at the far post to get the ball – and Tottenham – just about over the line.

TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Lloris 6; Aurier 7, Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 6 (Fernandes 75), Sessegnon 4; Lo Celso 8, Winks 6 (Dier 56, 5), Alli 7; Son 6, Moura 6, Lamela 5 (Eriksen 62, 6).

Goals: Alli 38, Son 79.

NORWICH (4-2-3-1): Krul 7; Aarons 7, Hanley 7, Zimmermann 6, Byram 6; Tettey 5 (Hernandez 82), McLean 6 (Stiepermann 90); Rupp 7 (Drmic 86), Duda 6, Cantwell 6; Pukki 7. Goal: Pukki 70 pen.