Tottenham stroll past Huddersfield in routine win ahead of Juventus visit

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Huddersfield Town 0: This was a dominant performance in which Spurs played expansive, fast, fluent football from beginning to end

Jack Pitt-Brooke
Saturday 03 March 2018 17:25 GMT
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Son Heung-min was the star of the show at Wembley
Son Heung-min was the star of the show at Wembley (Getty)

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Tottenham may only have five games left here at Wembley, if they have a bad month in the cups, but just as their stay here nears its end, it no longer feels like anything to worry about.

It feels strange, looking back, to remember the time at the start of this season when it looked as if Tottenham would never look comfortable here at Wembley and were doomed . Remember the defeat to Chelsea, the Burnley or Swansea draws, when Spurs looked anxious and ponderous. Missing the support of the White Hart Lane crowd, it was easy enough to fear that this season of endless away games would end with Spurs going nowhere.

But here in March, at the serious end of the season, Spurs now look as if they have been playing here for years. They swept past Huddersfield Town this afternoon, deserving far more than the 2-0 scoreline they ended up with.

Son has now scored ten Premier League goals this season
Son has now scored ten Premier League goals this season (Getty)

This was their seventh straight win here in all competitions, a run that includes beating Manchester United and Arsenal too. Yes, beating Huddersfield Town was easier than that, but they still hit their top level in the middle of a busy schedule against an organised side who are playing for their lives. Not everyone can do that.

This was a dominant performance in which Spurs played expansive, fast, fluent football from beginning to end. The front four of Heung Min Son, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane showed all their usual trust and understanding of each other’s games and, with a bit more luck in the box, Spurs would have scored five or six.

Tottenham remain unbeaten in the league in 2018
Tottenham remain unbeaten in the league in 2018 (Getty)

What made it even easier for Tottenham was that Huddersfield did not just want to park the bus and make things difficult for Spurs. They tried to press and play high up the pitch, which was admirable enough but when Alli and Kane both nearly scored in the first few minutes it should have been clear they were taking a big risk.

So it proved when Spurs took the lead, stealing the ball inside their own half and sweeping forward, Jan Vertonghen forward to Kane, who headed the ball back to Alli, who passed the ball into the huge empty space of the Huddersfield half, for Son to run onto. He took his time, beat Lossl, and put the ball in the bottom corner. If Lossl was easily beaten he made up for it with sharp saves from Kane and Eriksen soon after.

Kane was unable to get on the scoresheet this time
Kane was unable to get on the scoresheet this time (Getty)

The second half was no different: all Spurs, plenty of chances, one brilliant Son goal to show for it, a sense that they deserved more, but were happy enough with what they got. The second goal was even better than the first. Kane burst down the right, surrounded by defenders, but swung over a cross that Kevin de Bruyne would have envied. It bounced in the box, into the path of Son, who headed it back into the opposite corner of the net. David Wagner said afterwards that in its technical precision the goal summed up the difference between the teams.

His own side never looked like getting something but Tom Ince, who came on as a substitute, did have a good chances at 1-0 that Hugo Lloris was equal too. But Wagner himself was not too disappointed and accepted that the home games against Huddersfield Town and Swansea City over the next two Saturdays would have far more to say about whether his team stays up or goes down.

Pritchard hobbled off for Huddersfield
Pritchard hobbled off for Huddersfield (Getty)

For Tottenham the rest of the second half was a time to relax and look forward to welcoming Juventus here on Wednesday. A win or a low-scoring draw would put them into the Champions League quarter-finals. After what they did to Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool here, and the rest, no-one would bet against them. Which, after seeing them struggle their way through their first few games here, is some doing.​

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