Harry Kane scored a brace to help Tottenham produce one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Tottenham used Liverpool’s shock defeat at relegation-threatened Bournemouth to enhance their top-four aspirations after devastating FA Cup and Champions League exits in the previous 11 days. Spurs led 3-0 after 62 minutes thanks to Kane’s first-half double and Heung-Min Son’s second-half goal, which brought his Premier League record to 20 this season. Joe Worrall’s header gave Forest a late consolation (81) after Fraser Forster saved substitute Andre Ayew’s stoppage-time penalty. The defeat puts Steve Cooper’s side three points above the relegation zone, despite the fact that they have only won once away from home in the Premier League this season.
Richarlison seemed to have given Spurs the lead with a fine third-minute finish after starting despite his emotional post-match interview following Wednesday’s Champions League loss at the hands of AC Milan. However, the Brazilian was denied his first Premier League goal for Spurs after a long VAR review ruled the forward offside in a close decision. Tottenham took the lead in the 19th minute when Kane headed home Pedro Porro’s cross, giving the Spaniard his first assist since joining the club in January. As Richarlison was hauled down by Forest captain Worrall, Kane scored his second penalty, his first since missing a penalty against France in December.
Worrall headed home at the back post after Felipe’s flick-on from a corner, giving the Forest fans their fourth away league goal of the season. Following a VAR review, Spurs substitute Dejan Kulusevski was penalised for handball inside the area, giving them nearly a second to celebrate. But Ayew’s spot-kick was saved by Forster in the 96th minute, capping off a dreadful day for the visitors, who had to take star player Brennan Johnson off in the second half with a groyne injury, with the Welshman likely to have a scan.
“Today, I saw the fire in the eyes of my players. Today was crucial; it was critical to get three points, especially after the game against Milan, but today was crucial since we only have the league now,” Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte said. “With 11 games remaining, we wanted to rebound today to demonstrate our mental toughness. Morale might be quite low in this type of situation, but I see the proper spirit and the correct determination to get three points. It was positive, but at the same time, I told my guys, “This is the past, and we have tonight to enjoy this triumph,” before moving on to the next game.”
“The first half was basically where the game was won or lost. In the game, we didn’t compete well enough. I didn’t like us in duels, one-on-ones, or even tackles. It simply wasn’t at the competitive level that it should have been. If anything, the disallowed goal should have served as a red flag,” Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper said. “We were simply not aggressive enough in the first half. We were much better in the second half, we were on the front foot, we played with more competitiveness and aggression, and as a result, we had some decent moments. We appeared to be a superior team in the second half, but the dissatisfaction was in the first half. In the end, we overburdened ourselves.”
Nottingham Forest has been defeated 14-1 in all four Premier League games played in London this season. It’s the first time they’ve lost four league games in a row in the capital since February 1999. (a run of five). Tottenham’s last 24 home league games have all ended in draws (W17 L7), and tonight was the first time Spurs had a two-goal lead at halftime in a Premier League home game since May last year against Arsenal.
Harry Kane has scored 20 goals in a Premier League season for the sixth time, with only Alan Shearer (7) having done so in more separate seasons. Fraser Forster has saved four of the previous eight Premier League penalties he’s faced, with today’s stop against Andre Ayew being his first with Tottenham Hotspur.
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