IT’S WHITE HART KANE
Kane ends United’s top-four hopes to leave Lane in style
Not a dry eye in the house: Harry Kane celebrates after scoring Spurs’ final goal at White Hart Lane as they said farewell to their famous old stadium
AMID the fanfare of Tottenham’s farewell to White Hart Lane, two important issues were settled here. Victory for Tottenham confirmed Mauricio Pochettino’s team will finish second in the Premier League, which is the very least they deserve after an exceptional season. It is their highest league finish since 1963.
Manchester United, meanwhile, can no longer finish in the top four and that is what they deserve, too. Over the course of the last nine months, United have not quite been good enough.
Wayne Rooney’s consolation goal was United’s first at a top-five away ground and, against that background, it is impossible to put forward a case for their inclusion among the elite. If United’s season is to end well, the glory will have to arrive in Stockholm in the Europa League final a week on Wednesday.
Tottenham have been much better than everybody apart from champions Chelsea this season and they were far superior to United here. They should have won by more than one goal and United’s goalkeeper David de Gea was the visitors’ best player.
Consider this sobering fact, too. Of the ten outfield players selected by Jose Mourinho for this match, not one would improve yesterday’s opposition. That tells us much about the job Pochettino has done and the task facing Mourinho.
At full-time, Pochettino turned to his bench and pumped his fists. It was clearly very important to him that his team won — not only to see this fine stadium off in style but also to make sure Tottenham did not tail off as they did after losing out in the title race to Leicester a year ago.
Spurs did not even finish second that year. That hurt Pochettino, but there will be no repeat this time.
The Tottenham manager can spend his summer positively, reflecting on clear improvement. The way his team recovered from the disappointment of ill-deserved defeat in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea should encourage him, so should the fact that his players responded to their rival’s clinching of the league title on Friday with another impressive win.
This could have been a more comfortable afternoon, too. Despite missing several first-team players, this was a United XI more than strong enough to compete but Spurs started on the front foot and were ahead inside six minutes.
One of the thrills of watching this Tottenham team is recognising levels of high technical skill and supreme athleticism. The opening goal here combined both as Ben Davies delivered a perfect cross from the left and Victor Wanyama rose to thump a powerful header past De Gea from six yards.
Questions could be asked of Rooney’s contribution to the goal. The United captain was marking Wanyama but got stuck under the ball, allowing his opponent time and space to score clinically. Despite Rooney’s mistake, it was still a lovely goal to watch.
At that point, it was tempting to fear for United. Such has been their manager’s recent insistence that it was impossible to finish in the top four and win the Europa League, one wonders if his players are currently approaching league games expecting the worst.
They certainly played as though in a trance when losing at Arsenal a week ago and for a while it looked as though they might be submerged here. Spurs were motivated, energetic and aggressive. Any win over United counts as a scalp, even in these changing times.
De Gea was busy throughout the first half, saving well from the breaking Son Heung-min and then spectacularly from Dele Alli. Then, moments before half-time, he blocked a Harry Kane effort with his legs.
United tried to gather forward momentum but could not get enough of the ball. A brilliant Rooney pass sent Anthony Martial away and the Frenchman’s shot was curled wide. But that was as good as they got.
Early in the second half Tottenham scored again. Alli drew a foul with a turn of pace down the left and when Christian Eriksen took the free-kick, Kane eased ahead of Chris Smalling to nudge the ball in with the outside of his foot from close range.
It was a bad goal for United to concede — again — and it could have killed them. But Mourinho sent on attacking substitutes and when Martial crossed for Rooney to score at the near post, there was suddenly a whiff of a comeback.
Mourinho would have enjoyed that more than he would admit and United had a few half-chances. But this was a day that Spurs were determined would not be spoiled and they saw the game out easily.
Spurs’s home record has once again sustained them this season and they will hope to take some of that habit to their temporary Wembley home next season.
United must get closer to them next time round and one feels their Europa League final will only signal the start of a critical couple of months.