Dele’s nifty 50 SPURS STAR HITS LANDMARK AS POCH’S TEAM GO TO THIRD
DELE ALLI reached a personal milestone with his 50th goal for Tottenham as the north London team kept up the pressure in the title race.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had gambled again – and came up trumps.
He ordered his two most talismanic stars to sit out this tricky trip to the east Midlands as Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen had a rest.
But their understudies – in particular, man-of-the-match Son Heung-min – proved able without Kane and the Dane.
The South Korean led the line superbly, curling home a beauty to end a sterile first-half in stunning fashion.
And then he turned provider, finding Alli, who nodded past Kasper Schmeichel before the hour, kil l i ng the game stone-dead. The changes came less than one week after Spurs boss Poch had drawn criticism for switching around a winning team from the midweek triumph over Inter Milan for the north London derby at the Emirates – and he was taught a painful lesson.
But the three points here lifted the club into third – and also gave them their best return of points at this stage of the season since their doublewinning season in 1961.
There was never any realistic possiblity of them not landing the spoils at the King Power Stadium as Spurs turned in a performance that didn’t scale the heights, but rather did hit the right notes.
Interestingly, Pochettino has prospered without Kane, winning eight of 12 games since the start of the 2015 campaign in which he has been absent. More importantly, they have lost just once in that time. It was some punt by Pochettino. But, while the north Londoners were without Kane through choice, they weren’t the only side without their talisman.
Jamie Vardy sat out the midweek draw at Fulham and his troublesome groin forced him to sit out this one, too.
Without its headline acts, the first period was little more than a waste of 45 minutes of everyone’s time. It desperately needed an injection of life, of inspiration – or even a goal would have done.
Only once was either goal really threatened.
And that was when Wes Morgan just about put the brakes on Alli, who had found his way to within sight of the whites of Leicester keeper Schmeichel’s eyes. And just when it seemed that a welcome half-time cuppa was all that would warm up a cold crowd, Son struck.
And it was a strike of simplicity that finally made the difference.
Serge Aurier played a ball to Son, who took it inside and then curled a beauty around Schmeichel from outside the area.
Leicester tried to mount a comeback, but the closest they came was a weak Demarai Gray effort that was gathered comfortably by Hugo Lloris.
And 13 minutes after the break Spurs had their second.
Ben Davies spotted Lucas Moura in too much space.
The Brazilian had the time to turn and run at Leicester.
Son had peeled away to the left and his cross invited Alli to nod home at the far post.
And his landmark goal was the perfect warm- up for Tuesday’s trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona.