Tottenham vs Sunderland match report: Christian Eriksen double sees Spurs keep pace with the leading trio

Tottenham 4 Sunderland 1

Christian Eriksen scores his second and Tottenham's third against Sunderland (Getty Images)

Not so much Glory, Glory but Gently, Gently. Tottenham kept the faith, retained their patience, and received their due reward. This was not the stuff of fantasy, a bold statement of intent, but a quiet reminder that the team are content to do the dirty work and play hard-hat football when required.

Sunderland kept their lead for only 90 seconds, a failure which prompted Sam Allardyce to spit out his chewing gum with revealing venom. Spurs, the team the Sunderland manager traduced as callow and timid, were commendably ruthless in asserting their authority during a one-sided second half.

Victory offered little clarity about their credentials as credible title challengers, but set them up perfectly for a sequence of eminently winnable matches against Crystal Palace, Norwich and Watford. Christian Eriksen scored twice, Harry Kane contributed his seemingly obligatory penalty and Mousa Dembélé embroidered a dominant performance with another long- range strike.

No team have conceded fewer Premier League goals this season than Spurs, testament to consistency of selection and the wisdom of recruiting Toby Alderweireld to partner Jan Vertonghen in the centre of defence. Complementary advances made by Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane lend weight to a collective ability to respond to such setbacks as the midweek defeat by Leicester.


 Patrick van Aanholt celebrates giving Sunderland the lead
 (2016 Getty Images)

Maurico Pochettino unsurprisingly applied a cold compress of common sense on proceedings, striking the balance between praising the potential of his young squad and limiting its horizons. It was “too soon” to speak of Tottenham as putative champions; the Spurs manager insisted he would not be held to significant judgement until they have played 30 League games.

The scoreline was marginally more eloquent. The mechanical whirr of a giant yellow digger operating in the adjoining building site, where Tottenham’s future is taking shape in the form of a new 60,000- seater stadium, was another harbinger of progress.

The fans were more concerned with the past. Spurs have a history of flattering to deceive. Any echoes of traditional susceptibility to pressure when opportunity beckons are amplified uncomfortably.

This match quickly developed into a test of their subtlety as well as their intensity. Sunderland defended deep. The traps were unconcealed and relatively easy to avoid, but still needed to be negotiated. There were few surprises: the visitors funnelled men behind the ball whenever possible in a system which utilised players as human chloroform. Jermain Defoe’s isolation was a familiar imposition, but his threat was fitful.

Sunderland’s only compensation was an impressive Premier League debut by the England Under-21 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. His distribution was impeccable, his handling was measured and the elasticity of a series of saves augured well. Regrettably, he will be obliged to learn quickly, since he can expect scant protection from a defence that has conceded more goals, 45 in 22 games, than any of their rivals. Sunderland, who have failed to win any of their past 12 games against Tottenham, have not managed a clean sheet since November.

Christian Eriksen celebrates scoring against Sunderland (Getty Images)

Any side with Sunderland’s record are obliged to man the barricades effectively once they have something to protect. They took the lead five minutes from half-time when Patrick van Aanholt, found by a clever pass inside Kieran Trippier by Adam Johnson, beat Hugo Lloris at his near post. Yet all too quickly a Kane shot, blocked expertly by Pickford, fell to Eriksen. His shot was not cleanly struck and should have been dealt with on the line by Lee Cattermole, but the midfielder allowed it to deflect into the roof of the net.

At least Pickford had a more fulfilling experience than the day’s other debutant, the former Bayern Munich defender Jan Kirchhoff, whose introduction as a 58th-minute substitute sparked Tottenham’s three-goal surge. He had been on the pitch a matter of seconds when Pickford was beaten by a low shot from Dembélé. Kirchhoff deflected Eriksen’s subsequent shot over the young goalkeeper before conceding the penalty with a foul on Danny Rose that enabled Kane to milk the crowd’s eager applause.

“He’s found out how difficult it is,” Allardyce told a TV interviewer. “We had to get him on at some stage. He knows what the pace is like now. He’s contributed to the loss with the penalty. But we opened up too much – that was the problem.”

The home supporters did their best to contribute to his malaise. “Four-nil and a long way home,” they sang. The journey may well be concluded in the cul-de-sac they call the Championship.

Tottenham: (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembélé (Carroll, 79); Lamela (Onomah, 73), Alli, Eriksen; Kane (Son, 87).

Sunderland: (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Jones, O’Shea, Brown, Van Aanholt; Cattermole (Rodwell, 53), M’Vila; Johnson, Lens (Watmore, 75), Graham (Kirchhoff, 58); Defoe.

Referee: Mike Dean.

Man of the match: Dembélé (Tottenham)

Match rating: 6/10