Advertisement

5 talking points from Tottenham's 6-1 victory at Leicester

  1. Harry Kane takes pole position in the race for the Golden Boot with four goals

The 23-year-old’s bid to retain his title as the Premier League’s top scorer is pretty much the only prize still on the cards at Tottenham, and he has gone a long way towards achieving that goal tonight.

It was clear from the start that it was very much on his mind.

He had already shown his single-mindedness during Sunday’s victory over Manchester United, going for goal from 20 yards when Kieran Trippier was unmarked outside him.

There was a similar moment early on tonight as Kane dispossessed Yohan Benalouane and immediately aimed for the far corner with an ambitious effort, overlooking both Heung-Min Son and Ben Davies, who threw his arms up in despair.

READ MORE: Leicester City 1 Tottenham 6: Four-star Kane pulls clear in Golden Boot race

READ MORE: Leicester City 1 Tottenham 6 as it happened

Then, in the second half, the striker hilariously shot from inside his own half instead of breaking with two team-mates in support, prompting some hasty apologies and an embarrassed shake of the head.

But Kane ended up having pretty much the perfect evening, scoring four times, including a second-half hat-trick.

He started the evening two goals behind Romelu Lukaku in the top goalscorers’ chart but ended the match two goals ahead of the Belgian, who must have been watching with increasing disbelief and frustration.

Having suffered two ankle ligament injuries this term, it would be quite a feat if Kane does go on to win the trophy again.

2. Son prefers the harder chances

The South Korean certainly has goals in his game – after all he scored eight times in just six matches in March and April.

It is therefore odd that he is so repeatedly wasteful when played through one on one with the goalkeeper.

Son memorably missed a big chance to score an early opener when Spurs visited Monaco in the Champions League, and he was denied by David De Gea on Sunday after going for power and shooting straight at the Spaniard.

It was a similar story this evening at the King Power Stadium as Son bore down on goal with only Kasper Schmeichel to beat, only to blaze the ball over the bar.

Nonetheless, after setting up Kane’s first strike, Son scored with a clinical first-half finish, watching the ball carefully as Dele Alli scooped it over the Leicester back line and volleying into the bottom left corner.

He went to score an equally impressive goal 20 minutes from time, finding the bottom right corner from outside the box to register his 21st goal of the season.

It is a highly impressive tally. It seems he just prefers the tougher chances.

Christian Eriksen is just one Spurs star to have kicked on this term
Christian Eriksen is just one Spurs star to have kicked on this term

3. Who needs Christian Eriksen?

The Dane has rightly been named Tottenham’s Player of the Season after providing much of the ammunition for the creative players.

He was given a rare break this evening, watching on from the bench, but he was certainly not missed.

It is to Spurs’ credit that they have finished second despite missing a host of key players at one time of another. On this evidence, even the mercurial Eriksen is not indispensable.

4. Careless defending undermines Hugo Lloris’ bid to win the Golden Gloves

Similarly to Sunday’s game against Man United, Spurs were in control in the second goal, holding a 2-0 lead and threatening to increase their lead, but they then allowed their foes back into the contest.

Trippier was beaten too easily by Anthony Martial at the weekend, and Tottenham conceded a fairly comical goal this evening when Lloris rushed out of his box to challenge Jamie Vardy and ended up giving Ben Chilwell an open goal.

It proved not to matter in terms of the result, but it has hampered Lloris’ attempt to win the Golden Gloves.

Spurs’ captain has kept 15 clean sheets in the league this season, one less than Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, and he can now only draw level with his rival in Sunday’s final round of fixtures.

5. Moussa Sissoko continues to labour, but Filip Lesniak’s journey is just beginning

Given that both of his usual right-backs, Kyle Walker and Trippier, were out of action, Mauricio Pochettino had to improvise.

Although Eric Dier was an option in that position, the manager’s solution was to switch from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-2-1 and use Sissoko as a right wing-back.

If this was an attempt to put the £30million man in the shop window and encourage offers this summer, it backfired.

The Frenchman may not have been entirely fit – he had a word with a member of the medical staff midway through the first half – but he still looked desperately short of confidence and offered little, despite Spurs’ dominance.

His days at Tottenham continue to look numbered, but this was a night to remember for 21-year-old midfielder Filip Lesniak, who came off the bench to make his debut in the final minutes.

Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs and visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BenPearceSpurs/