Peerless Harry Demolishes Palace

Harry Kane was at his imperious best as Spurs moved within two points of the Champions League places with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. The England captain scored two and made two on a night where his combination with Heung-min Son surpassed a Premier League record that has stood for over a quarter of a century.

There was little in the game’s opening 25 minutes to indicate that Tottenham would hit four for a second consecutive home game. Roy Hodgson had come to spoil, and one early Son headed chance apart, Palace looked impregnable. With the metronomic Winks preferred to Ndombele, Spurs proved incapable of playing through the centre of the visitors’ defence. But just as Mourinho’s side looked in danger of succumbing to frustration, Palace blew a hole in their own rampart to let Tottenham through.

Luka Milivojevic dawdled on the ball to the right of his own box, inviting the speedy Moura to snap in with a tackle. Possession broke loose to Kane, who drove to the byline before sliding the ball across the face of the six-yard box where Bale was on hand to stab home.

With 35 minutes played, the effervescent Moura was upended by Gary Cahill just outside the Palace area. Kane’s free-kick clipped the top of the wall and looped towards the back post, where Moura sped in to meet it. From an acute angle, the Brazilian had a chance on the volley from close range but missed his kick as the ball plummeted down under the glare of the floodlights.

Sergio Reguilon went close two minutes later, meeting Bale’s inswinging cross at the back post with a lunging effort that flew narrowly wide. The Spaniard is still looking for his first Tottenham goal, but given his willingness to join the attack, it can only be a matter of time.

Having shown virtually no attacking intent, Palace suddenly came alive in the final minutes of the half. Winks barreled into Ayew in the left-back position, which allowed Townsend to whip over a dangerous free-kick. Lloris did well to clamber above Palace’s impressive array of big men to punch the ball to relative safety. But Spurs did not recover their equilibrium, and seconds later, Benteke knocked down a hopeful pass to Eze.

The youngster fed the ball wide to Milivojevic, who, exploiting Matt Doherty’s tardy recognition of the danger, teased a beautiful first-time ball in the Tottenham box. There, towering above Alderweireld, was Benteke to plant the ball into the net with a thumping header. Spurs barely had time to restart the match before Stuart Atwell blew for half-time.

Emboldened by this smash and grab, Hodgson sent on Wilfried Zaha at the interval. But it was the home side who poured forward, determined to regain the lead. Four minutes after the restart, Bale cut infield and switched the play to Reguilon. The Spaniard tossed a deep centre to the far post, which Kane leapt to head back across the six-yard box, where jumping highest, Gareth Bale was on hand to power a header past Guaita.

Two minutes later, Spurs had all but wrapped up the points. A glorious flowing move started by the excellent Hojbjerg in the centre circle saw a blur of crisp passes between Moura, Son and Bale that set Doherty away down the right flank. The Irishman rolled the ball back to the corner of the box where Kane was waiting. The forward’s first-time arching strike left Guaita with no chance as it sailed into the top corner. It was a goal so sublime in its conception and execution that even Jose Mourinho felt compelled to set off down the touchline to join in the celebrations.

With just over twenty minutes to play, Zaha was unlucky to see his flashing drive from the edge of the area cannon back off the post. But it was a rare moment of danger faced by Tottenham in a second period that ranks amongst the North Londoners’ best halves of football this season. Even once Bale had made way for Lamela, Spurs continued to sparkle.

The Argentine was at the heart of the move that led to Tottenham’s fourth. His progressive ball carrying and beguiling pass to the left allowed Son to bypass Guaita with a volleyed cross that Kane cushioned into the unguarded net. The goal was the 14th Kane and Son have combined to score in the Premier League this season – 1 more than the pairing of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton managed back in 1994/95.

Kane, who is enjoying the best season of his already stellar career, now has 16 league goals and 13 assists for the campaign. There is little to be said about the striker that hasn’t been written already. But as one fan schooled on the great Tottenham teams of the 1960s opined at full-time, ‘He’s even better than Jimmy Greaves’. Praise in N17 doesn’t come any higher.