LEICESTER CITY MAY have gone eight points clear of second-placed Tottenham with their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday but Spurs show no signs of giving up the ghost in the Premier League title race just yet.
“Leicester City, we’re coming for you” was the chant of choice at White Hart Lane on Sunday, after Christian Eriksen had side-footed home to give Spurs an unassailable 3-0 lead over Bournemouth, adding to Harry Kane’s first-half brace.
The Foxes are the talk of the town as their fairytale shows no signs of ending but Spurs are positioning themselves intelligently; they have emerged as the only true contenders to prevent Leicester’s coronation in May, with Arsenal’s renaissance at Everton coming too late to truly impact the race and Manchester City continuing to implode.
Many had written the title race’s obituary when the full-time whistle blew at Selhurst Park but Spurs were unperturbed, going about their business in the manner of a seasoned title-chaser.
Tottenham were vibrant, energetic, and pulled Bournemouth this way and that, almost toying with their prey.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are well-drilled but they also play some fantastic football at times and it was never more in evidence than the first-half, as Spurs kept the ball for minutes at a time, Eriksen, Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele interchanging positions fluidly and playing neat triangles as Spurs worked their way up the pitch.
Kane scored a mere 44 seconds into the game, before Bournemouth had even touched the ball, and the strike threatened to open the floodgates, such was Spurs’ dominance. Kane scored again before the interval, sprinting on to a fine Alli through ball and slotting home, before Eriksen rounded off the win in the second-half, applying a simple finish after Artur Boruc parried Kane’s effort into his feet.
That this win came after a humbling 2-1 home loss to Borussia Dortmund, in which the scoreline flattered Spurs, makes it all the more impressive; Pochettino’s men are no lightweights and they will not fold when the going gets tough, instead picking themselves up and going again.
They have tough games looming, a trip to Anfield comes before Manchester United visit White Hart Lane, but to say that this game was an odds-on victory would do a disservice to Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe’s men had not lost in four Premier League games, pulling themselves to safety in impressive, unheralded fashion. Howe remains one of the league’s brightest young managers and appears destined to land a big job in the near future. Yet his boldness in selection – he named a 4-3-3 formation – came back to haunt him as Spurs picked off their rivals in comfortable, almost languid, style.
This was a case of a promising mid-table side visiting title contenders and finding themselves outclassed.
Pochettino is working with the most promising squad Spurs have ever had and has the fans believing that a first Premier League title is within their reach.
The gap is now five points and Spurs know that they are relying on others to do them a favour and pick up points against Claudio Ranieri’s history-chasers, but 2015-16 has been a season unlike any other, with twists and turns lurking around every corner.
As such, don’t be surprised if it is Hugo Lloris, and not Wes Morgan, who holds the Premier League trophy aloft on May 15.
