Harry Kane shone once again as Spurs become Premier League leaders

Spurs climb to the top of the Premier League after defeating Manchester City 2-0. Goals from Heung-min Son and Giovani Lo Celso were the ingredients to a masterclass from the London club.

“It’s not important how we play. If you have a Ferrari and I have a small car, to beat you in a race I have to break your wheel or put sugar in your tank.’’

Those were the words of Spurs manager Jose Mourinho ten years ago. They feel as real today, however, following a deserved triumph over Manchester City at home.

Man of the Match, Harry Kane, was not on the scoring sheet, yet the England international will likely be making most of the headlines linked to the weekend’s contest. He did provide the assist for Lo Celso in the 64^th minute after a brilliant counterattack to double the lead, but that was far from being the only highlight of his performance.

It didn’t take long for Kane to direct his team towards victory against the Citizens.

Five minutes in and the 27-year-old was positioned between the visitors’ defensive and midfield lines, he took a couple of steps and dropped deeper. Dragging with him both City centre defenders, clearing the path for Son to run into and receive an elegant long ball from Tanguy Ndombele, the South Korean went on to open the scoring as the ball went past goalkeeper Ederson.

This game marked Mourinho’s anniversary with the Lilywhites, the Portuguese boss was the author of additions and touches that is making this side a very serious Premier League candidate. Most remarkably, he brought on board the likes of Sergio Reguilon, Steven Bergwijn, Lo Celso, Matt Doherty, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, and last but definitely not least Gareth Bale.

The experienced manager made the best out of his purchases, making them regular starters and substitutes. Moreover, he made sure to improve the personnel he ‘’inherited’’ as the 57-year-old would say. This is what he has exactly done with Ndombele, Son, Moussa Sissoko but the spotlight will remain on Kane.

Almost without exception, he was seen behind the ball when out of position, supporting the whole of the defensive and midfield lines, running back after losing the ball and conceding fouls. Doing what his job description entailed according to his post-match interview:

‘’Mainly holding up the ball, trying to buy time, winning fouls, being strong and try to bring other into play.

‘’On the counterattack, I am the one dropping deep, then obviously I’ve got runners in behind and thankfully we took advantage of that.’’

The Spurs number 10 now has nine assists in nine games while scoring seven goals as well, against City he made the second most amount of tackles (3) and was seen in unusual positions defending all over the pitch.

See for yourself:

Credit: SofaScore

When asked about the mentioned numbers he said:

‘’It’s a season where you’ve got to do all it takes to win games. It’s going to be an up and down year.

‘’Part of my job is to work hard for the team, win the tackles, of course, score goals and get assists. But I enjoy defending, I enjoy working hard. The feeling now after the game after you’ve put in a great shift, there is no better feeling when you win.’’

Mourinho knew that Spurs did not have that much of an issue when it came to scoring goals as they scored 61 last season, however, it was the defensive side that pulled them back. Conceding on 47 occasions restricting them at sixth and making them the second-worst defense of the Premier League’s elite.

Looking at the numbers this season, it surely is a different side, so far, they sit at the top of the table with the least amount of goals conceded and scoring the second most.

All of this was manifested in Kane’s performance as the usually most lethal attacking weapon in the arsenal proved to also be one of the defence’s most vital. The minimum part of the credit should go to the manager who was able to turn goalscoring superstars into full of stamina all-round machines.

In a victory like this one, some praise goes out to the winners and some criticism is thrown on the defeated. This is the least amount of points Pep Guardiola has ever gathered after seven games in his whole career from the dugout.

His players’ work ethic was nothing compared to the determination of the opposition, the risks of playing a high line were terribly assessed. Add to that the fatigue of the squad following the exhausting schedule, it did not look good for the 2018/19 Premier League Champions.

Nonetheless, the fact remains, no matter how much the Manchester City players dribbled, passed, or crossed, they failed to see out a serious opportunity behind the hosts’ compact and disciplined lines.

Tottenham have got a very interesting schedule with Europa League games on Thursdays and clashes against rival London clubs; Chelsea and then Arsenal. Following their performance, expectation will be building up, to test if they are Premier League Champions quality or not.

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