Harry Kane’s second-half masterclass inspires Spurs to 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace
A second-half masterclass from Harry Kane helped fire Tottenham Hotspur to a 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Heading into the match at Selhurst Park, Spurs were enduring a poor run of just one win in their last five across all competitions, while they’d taken only a single point from two matches since the end of the World Cup.
For a short while, it looked like that run would continue, with Palace more than a match for the visitors in the opening half. However, Patrick Vieira’s side were never truly able to test Spurs, with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris called into serious action just once to deny Andre Ayew, while Joachim Andersen lashed a shot just wide of the post from 30 yards out.
Having weathered the storm, Spurs came to life shortly after the break and after only appearing on the periphery in the first half, Harry Kane came to life to inspire his side.
First, the England international powered home a header at the far post, getting above Andersen to meet a perfect Ivan Perisic cross in the 48th minute. Kane now has seven headed goals in the Premier League this season, leaving him just two short of the record set by Everton’s Duncan Ferguson in 1997/98.
Harry Kane has scored seven headed goals in the Premier League so far this season.
He only needs two more to equal Duncan Ferguson's single-season record from 1997/98. ⏳ pic.twitter.com/OH4ETK8STe
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 4, 2023
Just five minutes later, Kane doubled his tally and Tottenham’s lead in style, dispatching a ruthless finish into the far corner after Bryan Gil expertly found his run inside the box. This latest strike was Harry Kane’s 46th in top-flight goal in London derbies, equalling Ian Wright and leaving only Jimmy Greaves (50) ahead of him.
Harry Kane has now scored as many top-flight league goals in London derbies as Ian Wright (46).
Jimmy Greaves is the only player in in history with more (50). pic.twitter.com/CeFPDwhpI7
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 4, 2023
Speaking of London derbies, next up is the North London one against Arsenal; a fixture Kane has scored 14 goals in, at least four more than any other player.
But Spurs didn’t get ahead of themselves. There was a job to finish at Selhurst Park and finish it they did, in style.
With Palace on the ropes, the Tottenham pressure grew. Although he didn’t score it himself, Kane once again played a huge part in a third goal on the night, bullying Nathaniel Clyne off the ball and feeding Son Heung-min, who was forced wide but still managed to find Matt Doherty with a deflected pass. The right-wing-back made no mistake with the finish, firing below Vicente Guaita to the far corner.
The only way the night could have gotten any better for Spurs is if Son could find his way onto the scoresheet and, lo and behold, he did just that in the 73rd minute. Once again, Kane was involved, flicking on a routine long ball from Lloris, causing undue havoc in the Palace defence. Son managed to battle Marc Guehi off the ball to fire a shot on goal, which was deflected off the centre-back and into Guaita’s net for the fourth time.
4-0, two Kane goals, Son back on the scoresheet, and a beaming smile on the face of Antonio Conte. Not a bad Wednesday night for Spurs.
Despite the resounding victory against a difficult opponent, Tottenham remain fifth. However, they’ll now head into the North London derby and a clash against Manchester City full of confidence, with their star men on form and the Champions League places moving rapidly back within their grasp.
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