Stoke City 0, Tottenham Hotspur 4: Spurs will fight until bitter end, two-goal hero Harry Kane warns Premier League leaders Leicester
Prolific Tottenham marksman Harry Kane vowed that his side will relentlessly pursue Premier League leaders Leicester until the bitter end after ripping Stoke to shreds.
Two goals apiece for lethal duo Kane and midfielder Dele Alli not only cut the Foxes’ advantage at the summit to five points but also sounded an ominous warning that Spurs are ready to pounce on any further slip-ups.
Four matches remain with Leicester’s next assignment Swansea at home on Sunday, while once again Tottenham will have to wait until Monday night when they will face West Brom at White Hart Lane.
“We’re not going anywhere, we’re on their [Leicester’s] tails and we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing," said Kane. "We can’t do any more than that.
“What a performance it was by everybody. Stoke is a tough place to come and we knew that. To win 4-0 in the manner that we did just shows what kind of team we are.
“We scored four, but we probably could have scored six or seven. We created a lot of chances and it was probably one of our best performances all season. That’s what we can do.”
Alli, playing his first game as a 20-year-old, said: “We know there are only a few games to go and all the boys know it’s important to keep fighting until the end, we’re not going to stop.”
It took just nine minutes for Spurs to seize the initiative as Kane collected a Mousa Dembele pass, cut inside from the left corner of the penalty area and curled a sumptuous effort beyond Stoke goalkeeper Shay Given.
Stoke have proven to be a menace to Tottenham in recent times, completing a league double last season and drawing 2-2 at White Hart Lane in August, but a stinging Marko Arnautovic drive, parried by Hugo Lloris, was all they had to show for their first-half endeavours.
Spurs came agonisingly close to doubling their lead shortly before the interval as Alli’s back-heel from Lamela’s pass sent Christian Eriksen clear on goal, only for his rising shot to clatter off the crossbar with Given beaten.
Tottenham did extend their advantage in the 68th minute as an exquisite Eriksen pass freed Alli and the former MK Dons midfielder, rather like Tottenham in general, was devoid of nerves as he calmly dinked over an advancing Given.
A rampaging Alli then fluffed his lines and struck a post after rounding Given, although Spurs carved Stoke open again moments later as Eriksen and Alli combined to find Lamela, who squared unselfishly for Kane to slot home his 27th goal of the season.
Alli added gloss to Tottenham’s stunning performance inside the final 10 minutes by angling a crisp volley into the bottom corner of Given’s net after being picked out by an industrious Eriksen.