Harry Kane scored a brace to help Tottenham produce one of the most comfortable football results of the midweek action in the Premier League. It was a game of two halves for the Spurs, to use a sports cliche. After a draw against Brentford and a loss to Aston Villa since the league resumed after the World Cup, Antonio Conte was hoping for a response from his team. They were worn out by a strong Palace team in the first half who were also seeking redemption after a dismal 3-0 loss to Fulham in their previous home game. But as has frequently been the case for the Eagles, they missed their opportunities when Tottenham’s talent started to emerge in the second half. In the 48th minute, Kane gave Spurs the lead in his 300th Premier League game.
Son had also been under criticism due to his ongoing struggles in front of goal. He believed he had provided an assist for Matt Doherty’s goal (68), but Nathaniel Clyne deflected his cross as it was being delivered. In the 72nd minute, the South Korean forward ended an eight-game scoring drought by combining with strike partner Kane for yet another Spurs goal. It was a nice volley as well, capping up a great night for Spurs. Despite having played one more game than Manchester United in fourth place, the outcome moves them closer to the Champions League spots by two points.
Even though Tottenham was the better team for the first 25 minutes, there weren’t many opportunities to make a big fuss. Michael Olise’s right wing cross was not met by Wilfried Zaha before the France U21 international made his own attempt. Kane sent his own header past the goal post at the other end. However, Crystal Palace immediately started to take control of the contest and ought to have led going into halftime. Before coming across Ayew, Zaha easily avoided Bryan Gil and Oliver Skipp. Hugo Lloris, though, made a strong stop on the Ghanaian forward’s attempt.
The home crowd encouraged Joachim Andersen to shoot just after the hour, and he complied. He moved the ball to his left and then launched a beautiful curling effort goalward that only just missed due to a last-second swerve. Tottenham will have been happy to have entered the half even after Crystal Palace’s continuing dominance. Within 15 seconds of the resumption, the Eagles should have scored as well. Ayew nipped through after Cristian Romero mishandled Joel Ward’s long pass, but Eric Dier was there to stop the shot.
Kane scored twice in five minutes, punishing the Eagles for their lack of finishing. Ivan Perisic, who was located by Gil on the left, swept a cross to Kane, who was lurking at the back post. Then, he towered above Joel Ward to score the opening goal. The second goal was then independently generated by Kane after a fantastic pass and receive with Gil down the right wing. The England captain easily tapped in the goal after getting the ball back as he nears Greaves’ record.
In the aftermath, Crystal Palace didn’t exactly relax either. Olise curled wide before Jean-Philippe Mateta came on to score, but Tottenham wasn’t done yet as Kane once more set up his teammates. When he eventually crossed the ball, it was deflected off Clyne at close range after he found Son down the right side of the box after Ward had forced him wide. Doherty nevertheless managed to get possession of the ball and fired the third goal for Tottenham past Vicente Guaita. Son, though, ultimately scored, ending his worst goalless streak since October 2018. Kane passed the ball to his teammate, who had gotten in front of Marc Guehi, by looping it over the top. The forward also made a nice volleyed finish, taking off his mask and flinging it into the area as he completed the football results.
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