Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino delighted with Harry Kane's record-breaking exploits against Everton
Kane has now overtaken club legend Teddy Sheringham as Tottenham’s record scorer in the Premier League with 98 goals
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Harry Kane’s determination to ensure that his record-breaking feats will not be confined to 2017 lifted Tottenham to another emphatic victory at Wembley.
The England striker scored two more as Everton were swept away. In the process, Kane overtook Teddy Sheringham as Tottenham’s record scorer in the Premier League with 98 goals.
The only slight surprise was that Kane was not the player who stood out most in a white shirt. That honour belonged to Son Heung-Min, who bestrode the match with an astonishing display.
It was all too much for Everton, who floundered on the road once more in spite of giving a debut to Cenk Tosun, their recent £27m signing from Besiktas.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “I’m very happy. I thought the performance was amazing and I congratulate Harry one more time.
“He can achieve all that he wants because of his willingness to work. He’s always thinking and trying to improve, improve, improve and score goals.
“It was a great performance from Son today, but it’s not only today. He has been like that for one, two, three months. He is more mature than last season and his level, belief and his confidence are showing more in every game. It is fantastic.”
The opening 20 minutes were characterised by Tottenham’s crisp passing, yet it was Everton who almost took the lead.
Wayne Rooney thought he had scored, nipping past his marker to nod in a Tosun header from an Everton corner only to see the raised offside flag.
Tottenham responded immediately with Kane forcing Jordan Pickford into saves three times in as many minutes.
They went ahead when Christian Eriksen’s cross-field pass found Serge Aurier, who burst forward but skewed across the six-yard area and perfectly into Son’s path for an easy tap-in.
If the remainder of the first half was high on technical excellence and short on excitement, the game sprang back into life just two minutes into the second period.
Clearly relishing his full-time role this season, Son pirouetted his way past Jonjoe Kenny on the halfway line before driving forward and laying the ball perfectly beyond Pickford’s reach and into Kane’s path. Of Kane’s 32 goals this season, it was surely the easiest.
It also settled this match as a contest. With the score at 2-0, an intriguing sub-plot raised its head. If Everton were to concede another three goals, they would see Tottenham overtake their Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
Son and Kane were clearly in the mood to achieve exactly that. First, Son picked out Alli, who sent his shot into the side netting.
Next, Son took the responsibility himself with a fiercely struck low shot which thudded against the base of the post.
Finally it was Kane – who else – who made sure of adding a third, easing in front of his marker to turn home an Eric Dier pass. Whether by design or accident, the ball looped over Pickford and dropped over the line beyond.
Tottenham kept surging forward and it was Eriksen’s turn to score their final goal, sweeping home after Son had combined with Alli, who smartly backheeled the ball into the Dane’s path.
Everton had been dismantled away from home once more, much to the dismay of manager Sam Allardyce.
He said: “It was a shocking second half performance. I saw some of the good sides of the players last week against Liverpool and I saw some of their worst sides in the second half today, which is massively worrying.
“I might have a bit of responsibility to take by playing too many attack-minded players, but I can’t excuse our capitulation after we went 2-0 down.
“Obviously it’s something I have to address now. I didn’t expect to see it. I’ve seen it and now I have to address it as quickly as possible.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments