Tottenham Hotspur was facing a must-win match Monday night on the road at Stoke City if it wanted to close in on Leicester City in the race for the Premier League crown.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli made sure Spurs got the three points they needed, each scoring a brace in a 4-0 victory.
With that result, Spurs are now five points behind Leicester in the Premier League table with four matches remaining. Pressure is now squarely on the Foxes, and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy being out at least one more match following additional charges from the FA certainly makes things very interesting at the top of the table.
“What a performance by everyone,” Kane said after the match. “Stoke is a tough place to come, and we knew that. To win 4-nil just shows what kind of team we are. We’re not going anywhere.”
Kane got Tottenham on the board with this strike in the ninth minute. Stoke City keeper Shay Given, in for the injured Jack Butland, really didn’t have much of a chance to do anything about it.
Harry Kane's goal vs. Stoke City (0-1) pic.twitter.com/7ATx0c6BoA
— The Locker Room (@TheLockerRoomHD) April 18, 2016
Tottenham then spent the next hour or so spurning scoring chances.
Like this one from Christian Eriksen in the 42nd minute:
What a miss @SpursOfficial @ChrisEriksen8 pic.twitter.com/fvHjQbvFqk
— Ella Francesca aka Miss Sinton (@sintonellz) April 18, 2016
Fortunately, the dam burst for Stoke in the 67th minute when Christian Eriksen sent Dele Alli steaming towards the Stoke net with a lovely chipped pass:
Can this season never end? Pls? #COYS pic.twitter.com/dU4RB77L3z
— Samuel Army (@thesamuelarmy) April 18, 2016
Four minutes later, after Alli missed a wide-open net that would have made it 3-0, he centered a pass on a two-on-one with Given and Kane scored his 24th time this season for that third goal.
They don’t come much easier than this one:
You can't stop Harry Kane #COYS #Tottenham https://t.co/ksxMucPgts
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 18, 2016
Spurs weren’t finished, as Dele Alli completed his brace in the 82nd minute:
It’s a win that will inspire confidence in Mauricio Pochettino and his side that they can push on and claim their first top-tier league title since 1961.
Leicester City hosts Swansea City on Sunday, while Spurs will be back in action at White Hart Lane against West Brom on Monday.
