Kane and Son set new Record as Swift Spurs Punish Leeds

Saturday 26th February 2022 - 12:30pm

Match Report

Leeds United 0 – 4 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – Having lost four of the last five, Spurs desperately need to bounce back with a win here today. The fact Leeds like to press teams could work in our favour, as we often look at our best when hitting teams on the counter. Leeds are trying to avoid relegation and are off the back of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool, so they'll be equally as keen to get a good result, plus their in front of their own fans.

It's a tough one, but I think we'll edge it 2-1."

Conte made two changes from the 1-0 loss to Burnley on Wednesday - Doherty replaced Royal at right wing-back, and Winks came in for the injured Bentancur.

3' Kulusevski conceded a free-kick on the left side of the penalty area and it was whipped in dangerously by Dallas. Struijk lost Romero and had a free header from six yards. Fortunately he headed across goal and wide. An early let off for Spurs.

10' GOAL! Winks received it from Dier inside his own half, he turned and drove forward with it before sliding a lovely ball down the left flank for Sessegnon to race onto. He drilled it across the area first time and it was met by Doherty who side-footed into the back of the net. A clinical counter from Spurs, and the Irishman's first goal for the club. 1-0.

15' GOAL! Kulusevski did brilliantly down the right side to hold off his man by the byline and turn back to work a one-two with Doherty that set him on a run into the box. He continued on past Leeds defenders until he was level with the near post which he smashed toward left-footed and found the bottom corner. A brilliant individual goal from the new man! 2-0.

17' A controlled clearing header from Dier wrong-footed Højbjerg on the edge of the area and was intercepted by Koch. He played a one-two with Raphinha before passing an effort at goal that beat Lloris but struck off the bottom of the post. Another let off for Spurs.

27' GOAL! Højbjerg picked up a loose ball between the centre spot and the goal. He looked up and chipped a ball over the top that Kane watched over the head of his man, before side-foot volleying from close range across the keeper and into the right side of the net. 3-0.

VAR intervened to check whether Kane had stayed onside. Thankfully he'd timed his run to perfection and the goal stood.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – 3-0 looks completely dominant from Spurs, and we have played well, but Leeds have had two big chances that we were lucky to get away with. Hopefully we can sure things up at the back and create further openings on the counter in the second half."

56' Son embarked on a glorious run from the halfway line to the edge of the Leeds area before attempting to finish it off with a driven shot towards the bottom left corner. Unfortunately he didn't quite catch it right, and it was saved with relative ease by Meslier.

61' Dier carried it out of the backline and eventually passed into the feet of Kane in the centre circle. He turned his man and played in Doherty with a wonderful through ball down the right side. Doherty took a touch before attempting to lift it over the outrushing goalkeeper. It wasn't high enough and Meslier saved with his chest. The rebound fell to Son who struck it at goal, but it was blocked by a recovering defender.

67' Some good work down the right side eventually ended up with Kulusevski receiving it in enough space to drive inside and take a shot towards the near post from the edge of the area. It was very much like his earlier goal, but this time Meslier dived to make the save.

76' Leeds cleared away a Spurs corner and it fell to Sessegnon who tried to pass it back out wide but got it all wrong and gave it straight to a Leeds man who was quick to play it long upfield for Dallas to race onto. Lloris came rushing out of his area and got to the ball but in trying to pass to Højbjerg was tackled by Dallas. He tried to recover by diving and swiping at the ankles of the Leeds midfielder, but thankfully he missed, as it would have been a straight red. Dallas carried it towards the open goal and when he finally opted to get his shot away Ben Davies came diving out of nowhere to make a heroic block. Outstanding defending from the Welshman.

85' GOAL! With the help of Højbjerg, Kane picked it up deep inside his own half and immediately looked for the run of Son. He picked him out with an inch perfect peach of a pass over the top that Son knocked it into his path with his torso, before side-footing into the back of the net. A record breaking goal as they've now assisted each other more than any other duo in the Premier League. 4-0.

90'+1' Davies conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area. Raphinha stepped up to take it and curled it over the wall and against the post.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – An emphatic win for Spurs, but it could easily have been a different scoreline with the clear-cut chances Leeds failed to put away. Kane was the magic maestro again, as he dropped between the lines and picked out killer passes to set us away on the counter time and time again. It's the confidence boost we needed, and lets hope we kick on from here!"

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 5 – Didn't have many saves to make. Had a moment of madness when he came out to win the long ball that Dallas was racing onto, but then passed it straight to him and tried to drag him down in what would have been a silly red card to get when we were 3-0 up. Thankfully he didn't connect, and Ben Davies came to the rescue.

• 4. Cristian Romero – 6 – Fortunate not to be punished after losing his man inside the opening five minutes. Grew into the game and made some good passes and runs forward. Had a few awkward moments defensively though.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Commanding in the air and brings leadership to the defence. Wasn't afraid to drive forward into space and find passes upfield either.

• 33. Ben Davies– 8 – Did a good job of covering for Sessegnon on the left side. Tremendous work to save Lloris' blushes and prevent Dallas from scoring by diving in to block the shot.

• 2. Matt Doherty – 8.5 – Scored his first goal for the club, and it was a good finish too. Provided the assist for Kulusevski's goal moments later by playing a nice one-two. Got in down that right side on countless occasions in what was a promising performance from him all round.

• 8. Harry Winks – 7.5 – Found himself in pockets of space that allowed him to pick out passes. A fine example was his perfectly weighted pass out to Sessegnon in the build up to the opener.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 8 – Hassled and harried in the centre of midfield as usual. Clipped a delicate chipped ball over the top to assist Kane's goal, which is something a lot of us wouldn't have been expecting to see, but very much welcomed.

• 19. Ryan Sessegnon – 8 – Excellent play from him down the left side to assist Doherty's opener. Unlucky not to find the net himself on another occasion. Bombed in down the wing time and time again which is exactly what we want to see from him. Gave the ball away sloppily following a corner that almost gifted Leeds a goal on the counter, but on the whole it was a strong showing from him.

• 21. Dejan Kulusevski – 8.5 – Scored a lovely goal to put us two ahead that showed great strength, composure and shooting ability. Almost did the same again in the second half. Looked a threat every time he had the ball as he makes good use of it.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 8 – Scintillating solo run through the centre of the pitch that he just couldn't quite find the finish for. It wasn't the only time he dribbled with it, as he constantly ran at the Leeds defence. Found the goal he deserved at the last with a lightning fast run onto Kane's pass and cool finish.

• 10. Harry Kane – 9.5 – Incredible performance from him. It was as if there were two of him out there as he was absolutely everywhere. Dropped deep to pick it up on numerous occasions and showed world class technique to spray passes all over. Got the assist for Son's goal, and grabbed one himself with a deft finish on the end of a Højbjerg pass.

Substitutions:

• 19. Ryan Sessegnon ⬅ 78' ➡ 12. Emerson Royal – 5 – Had a chance at the end that he failed to put away. Not a whole lot else of note.

• 21. Dejan Kulusevski ⬅ 78' ➡ 23. Steven Bergwijn – 6 – Showed good energy and almost set up Son late on.

• 7. Son Heung-min ⬅ 87' ➡ 44. Dane Scarlett – N/A – Given a brief runout at the end.

Man of the Match – 10. Harry Kane