| Match report
A devastating display of
energy, killer passes and clinical finishing saw Leicester City
reduced to the also-rans that they have embarrassingly become, as
Spurs ran in six at the King Power Stadium and condemned the Foxes
to the joint biggest Premier League home defeat and not even the
prospect of playing on Thursday again for a good while. Chief
tormentor was Harry Kane, who grabbed four, Heung-Min Son who scored
twice and Dele Alli, who they could only stop by foul means.
Without Trippier and Walker,
Poch began with a back four and brought Dembele in alongside Wanyama
and put Sissoko in for Eriksen, who was rested. It was
an interesting bench selection with Academy graduates Filip Lesniak
and 18 year old Samuel Shashoua given an opportunity to
experience first team duty.
When the game started,
Leicester looked like they might make a game of it. Son had
missed a hat-trick of chances in the first fifteen minutes, failing
to get any of his efforts on target when he was played in inside the
box or ran into it from deeper. Sissoko also swiped one over the bar
when Kane's free kick came back off the wall, but Leicester had
managed two efforts, with both on target. Mahrez played in Vardy,
who lashed one at goal, but Lloris not only got behind it, but
caught the ball on the wet turf and then Amartey hit one from 20
yards out and Dier stuck out a foot, diverting the ball upwards as
it went towards goal and Hugo leapt up to grab the ball again.
But in the 25th minute, with their first effort on target, Spurs
took the lead. Son once more got away down the right onto
Alderweireld's long pass that took Fuchs out of the game and he had
the presence of mind to hold the ball and wait for Kane's run just
behind him and his pull back was coolly volleyed past Schmeichel
from five yards out. It was a good piece of unselfish play by Son,
which Spurs hadn't shown until that point.
The goal sparked a spell of pressure on the Leicester goal, with
Dele having a header saved low down at his post by the keeper and
then
Kane ran away from Benalouane and sped a ball across the face of
goal, but nobody was there to finish it, but it was only a matter of
time before Spurs created another chance and some good work by
Dembele freed space for Wanyama to feed Dele on the edge of the D.
The midfielder lifted the ball over the defence for Son to swivel
and strike a volley into the ground that left Schmeichel hopelessly
grasping at thin air as his team went two down.
It didn't stop Spurs going forward and Dier glanced a header that
made the goalie dive right to save at his post once more.
Leicester had but one tactic and that was try to hit Vardy long, but
with a back four, there was usually cover to snuff out his threat.
He did go down in the box earlier in the half, when Alderweireld
went shoulder to shoulder with him in the box and Vardy did what he
does best and fell to ground. Luckily, Michael Oliver was wise to
his attempted deception. Sissoko did make one good intervention as
Vardy thought he was through, but otherwise, Spurs were mainly
intent on going forward.
Dele tried the trick of lifting the ball over the back four again,
but just too high for Son to get a header on it, while Spurs enjoyed
a massive amount of possession, with Leicester unable to pass to
their own player or hold onto the ball without being dispossessed of
it. The water laying on the pitch seemed to be slowing the ball
down, as sprays were thrown up as it ran along the turf, but Spurs
were happily fizzing it off the grass and running the legs off
Leicester. It meant that even with the happy clappers, the home
crowd were silent for much of the first 45 minutes.
All the Foxes had to show for the first half was a weak penalty
shout and a couple of shots on target. Mahrez showed his lack of
confidence at the moment, as he stopped playing when being hassled
by Wanyama and got an undeserved free-kick, with Albrighton
peripheral and their defence almost invisible. Unsurprising that at
half-time they took off and brought on Slimani. Another soft free
kick presented Benalouane the opportunity to head at goal, but he
put it well over.
Dele mugged Fuchs and Chilwell by their own corner flag, taking the
ball back along the dead ball line to try and set up Kane running to
the near post, but Harry couldn't quite get to it. Leicester were
content to fall down under every challenge to get set-pieces and
from one that came to nothing, Dele sold Davies short, as he slipped
inside his own box and Albrighton hit a shot that Dier blocked and
the follow-up by Mahrez was saved low down by Lloris.
Leicester were fired up at the start of the half and were flying
into tackles on the wet surface. Spurs were making the most of the
ball they had and when Kane lifted one over the Leicester defence to
Son, he had to adjust a bit more than for his goal and ended up
shinning a scissors kick a yard wide.
A comedy of errors led to Shakespeare's side getting back into the
game. A long through pass saw an offside Vardy challenge Lloris, who
had come well outside the box and the ball went infield with Spurs
players slipping over all over the place. It was passed to Chilwell
and as Hugo ran back, he slipped on the wet grass and the home
defender picked a route through the Spurs players in front of him to
bring them a goal that they hadn't truly deserved.
Spurs rocked a little after the goal, looking nervous in possession,
as Leicester tried to close Spurs on the ball, but a good hold up by
Dembele allowed the ball to be spread to the other side of the
pitch, where Sissoko rolled it into Toby's path on the right. He
stood up a cross to the far post and Victor came powering in with a
header across the face of goal, allowing Harry Kane the simplest of
tasks to nod over the line from a yard out.
Trying for his hat-trick, Harry robbed Chilwell just inside the
Leicester half and tried a quick shot over Schmeichel, but he
slipped in the execution of the shot and the ball skidded along the
turf. Also skidding on the turf was Son's shot when Sissoko did well
in the right back position and played the ball out to Kane. Harry
moved it on to Son, going for the return pass and taking defenders
with him, allowing our little Korean to turn back on himself to bend
the ball around Amartey and past a despairing dive by Schmeichel.
4-1 and Leicester
Moussa Sissoko ran at the home defence and hit a low shot, but the
keeper was behind it. The Foxes had a chance when the keeper played
a long ball out and Slimani was touched through, but Lloris was
right behind it. Leicester were just flying into tackles now and
Gray was booked for a high tackle on Dele and Simpson got away with
one on Dembele.
Amartey put in a weak header on the end of a corner and it was
slashed over by Vertonghen, before Simpson finally got booked for a
late tackle on Dele. His mate Eric Dier put this one just over the
bar, as Kane had done earlier, but they were still closing down and
Leicester seemed happy to clear the ball anywhere. Janssen came on
and worked well, putting Kane in, but his shot didn't curl enough to
be on target and then Vincent put a shot a foot over after Wanyama
rag-dolled Gray in midfield.
Kane found Dele on the right and his low ball was tucked away by
Janssen, only to see the linesman flag for offside. Dele hit one
over and there was a slight glimmer of resistance, as Fuchs struck a
shot from a very narrow angle, but it went well over and wide.
It was little of note and Kane showed how it should be done, when
substitute Filip Lesniak came on to put him in and he lashed a ball
low through a defenders' legs and the ball sped off the ground past
Schmeichel and it wrapped up his hat-trick. It was a treble he
really wanted and it became four when he stumbled past three blue
shirts and passed wide left to Ben Davies. He took the return pass
and fired it low past Schmeichel at his near post to make it 6-1.
It was a result that put Leicester well and truly in their place. 40
points separates the two sides this season and the actual gulf in
class is so much wider. They had won five straight home matches
before this, but were hopelessly adrift in terms of being anywhere
near Tottenham in terms of quality and determination, as Spurs were
still pressing in the final minute. For all the comments about them
being weakened, nobody mentions Tottenham's team. No Rose, Walker,
Trippier, Lamela, Winks ,Eriksen. To take apart a Premier League
side, let alone last season's champions, is testament to
Pochettino's credo and the fact that the team have learned from last
season in keeping going until the end.
The players who have come in have all performed and there was even
an assist for Filip Lesniak when he came on and was full of running.
A fitting tribute to the Lane was produced on Sunday and this is
perhaps an indication that the new venues that Spurs will be playing
in might not matter, after a 6-1 away victory.
A fantastic performance and
one that might prove useful in next season's campaign, as the side
showed its togetherness and ability to overcome desperate measures
and bad luck. It could be the beginning of something even more
promising.
Pete Stachio |
