Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Deadly duo at it again as Tottenham leapfrog Arsenal with Leicester scalp

Son Heung Min Totttenham 2022 TEAMtalk21

A second-half brace from Son Heung-min plus Harry Kane’s first-half header were enough to see Tottenham back in the top four with a 3-1 victory over Leicester.

The excellent Son linked up well with Dejan Kulusevski for his goals while Kane found the net from a corner. It means they edge ahead of Arsenal once again in the battle for a Champions League berth. Kelechi Iheanacho scored late for the Foxes but it was too little too late.

Spurs chief Antonio Conte made just one change from the 0-0 draw at Brentford. Midfielder Kulusevski dropped to the bench with Lucas Moura given the nod. Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made eight changes to his side, with Thursday’s Europa Conference semi-final against Roma in mind.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, full-back Timothy Castagne and winger Marc Albrighton were the only three remaining from the first leg.

Spurs knew that victory would see them move back into the top four at the expense of the Gunners. And they made a bright start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Leicester pinned in their own half.

However, it was the Foxes who enjoyed the first real chance on 14 minutes. Boubakary Soumare’s cross found Patson Daka and Hugo Lloris was at full stretch to tip the Zambian’s shot onto the post.

The opportunity seemed to spur the visitors into life and they began to dominate. And the hosts were indebted to Cristian Romero as he intercepted Albrighton’s pass for what would have been a Daka tap-in.

But it was a familiar partnership that gave Spurs the lead and settled the home faithful’s nerves. Son’s corner found an unmarked Kane who headed home at the near post on 22 minutes.

Harry Kane Tottenham 2022 TEAMtalk1

The England skipper then forced Schmeichel into a save on 33 minutes after a mistake by Nampalys Mendy. However, just three minutes later Iheanacho nearly levelled affairs, with his long-range effort just wide of the target.

Spurs led at the break but Leicester looked dangerous throughout.

Son stunner settles affair

Neither side seemed at the races early in the second period and Conte replaced Moura with Kulusevski on 55 minutes. And the Swede soon made an impact, with Spurs 2-0 up on the hour mark.

Kulusevski’s mazy run ended with a pass to the South Korean who turned to fire past Schmeichel. The Foxes players felt Caglar Soyuncu was fouled in the build-up to the goal but the referee was having none of it.

Rodgers responded by bringing on Jamie Vardy but it was soon 3-0 and game over. And it was Son once again with a superb strike on 79 minutes giving Schmeichel no chance with a curling effort into the top corner.

He was then replaced by Steven Bergwijn and received a standing ovation from the Spurs fans.

Tottenham blotted their copybook right at the death as Leicester netted a consolation through Iheanacho. Given a chance to shoot from the edge of the box, the Nigerian fired home via the post, giving Lloris no chance.

Spurs took a while to get going against a decent Leicester side but were worthy winners in the end thanks to their lethal strike force.