Harry Kane has truly arrived as a superstar.
Tottenham Hotspur have jumped ahead of local rivals Arsenal in the table, thanks to a very impressive 2-1 comeback victory in Saturday's North London Derby. Arsenal took an early lead and defended well for most of the match, but couldn't contain Harry Kane, who netted a brace, including an 86th minute winner.
The Gunners, uncharacteristically, prioritized keeping their shape and let Spurs have most of the ball. It seemed like a solid strategy, but Kane was too good for them on the night, and is now up to 12 Premier League goals on the season.
Kane's 5th minute shot on target was a sign of things to come, though it wasn't obvious when David Ospina made an excellent save. Six minutes after that, Arsenal had their goal, and it looked like Spurs were going to have a bad day.
Spurs defending on the goal was poor, and couldn't be put down to just one mistake. Danny Welbeck torched Danny Rose down the right wing before passing to Olivier Giroud, who was wide open thanks to Jan Vertonghen's curious defending. He mis-hit his shot, but Eric Dier kept Mesut Özil onside, Kyle Walker lost the German, and he hit a brilliant first-time finish.
While Tottenham had all of the ball and a handful of decent chances throughout the rest of the half, they failed to score. Arsenal looked comfortable, despite Spurs being the better side, until the 57th minute
The equalizer came on a corner, and it wasn't very well defended. Jan Vertonghen nodded a near post set piece on target, forcing Ospina into a good save, but no one was marking Kane at the far post. He was free to make a tap-in, and White Hart Lane went crazy.
Each side looked equally likely to score with a spell, and the goalkeepers had to make dueling world class saves. Hugo Lloris made a brilliant diving stop on Welbeck in the 61st minute, and Ospina's diving save on Nabil Bentaleb's 20-yard strike three minutes later was just as impressive.
A draw looked the most likely result as the half wore on until Spurs struck out of absolutely nowhere. Bentaleb played a perfect diagonal into the box for Kane, who rose up and directed an unsavable header to the far post, winning the North London Derby for Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur : Lloris, Rose, Vertonghen, Dier, Walker, Bentaleb, Mason (Paulinho 90'), Eriksen, Dembele (Chadli 75'), Lamela (Stambouli 90'), Kane
Goals: Kane (57', 86')
Arsenal : Ospina, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Bellerin, Coquelin (Akpom 89'), Ramsey, Özil, Cazorla (Rosicky 68'), Welbeck (Walcott 78'), Giroud
Goals: Özil (11')
3 things
1. Spurs were surprisingly in control... - All season, Spurs' weakest spot has been their center of midfield. It's been a rotating cast of characters throughout the campaign, with Mauricio Pochettino settling on Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb on Saturday. They made mistakes, but outdueled the pair of Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin on the day, controlling possession and breaking up most of Arsenal's counters.
2. ...Except for the bad goal they conceded - Yes, there's this caveat, as per usual with Spurs. Danny Rose still isn't much of a defensive left back, Mason has limited Premier League experience, Bentaleb is 20 and Eric Dier is 21. They lived up to their ages and reputations with their very poor defending on Arsenal's only goal. There's reason for Spurs fans to be very optimistic about the future of their team, but this goal was the perfect illustration of why they're not great yet.
3. So, how about that Harry Kane ? - With England boss Roy Hodgson in the stands, Tottenham's center forward announced himself as a superstar on the biggest stage. It's great to pile up goals against the Premier League's mid- and lower-table, but how great is Kane until he scores big goals on the biggest stage?
Well, how about two goals in a come from behind North London Derby win? That's pretty big, right?
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/16D0fZh
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