No Reply from Norwich as Superior Spurs Continue Winning Ways

Sunday 5th December 2021

Match Report

Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 0 Norwich

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – It'll be interesting to see if Conte makes any changes or sticks with the same side that saw off Brentford on Thursday. Norwich are experiencing a 'new manager boost' of their own as they're unbeaten in the three games Dean Smith has taken charge of so far. It won't be easy, but with the talent in our side and the home advantage, I'm backing us to keep this run of form going and win 3-0."

Spurs were forced into a single change from Thursday's line-up as right-back Royal was deemed ill. Conte chose Tanganga to step in for him.

3' Norwich almost snatched an early lead as they worked their way down the right side before pulling back to Pukki around the penalty spot, he shot first time but fortunately his finish was too close to Lloris who saved down low.

10' Sánchez played into the feet of Moura who nicked his way around one player before beating another via a quick one-two with Son, he span a third player before unleashing a piledriver that soared into the top corner. A sensational goal from Moura! 1-0.

22' A worry for Spurs as Reguilón, who'd been seen struggling during the warm-up, sat down and had to come off with a suspected thigh injury.

30' Skipp broke forward with it in the centre circle before laying to Moura who was quick to find Son, he dragged his shot and it found Kane but he could only divert it wide given the speed it came into him at.

34' A Son free-kick evaded everyone including the Norwich keeper Krul who'd come out to claim the ball but missed it. As a result it reached Ben Davies with an open goal ahead of him but he wasn't expecting it and couldn't adjust his feet in time to find the right finish.

38' Kane did well to beat the offside trap and latch onto a through ball slid down the right side to him from Moura. Krul was out on the edge of his area which Kane noticed and went for a cheeky first time chip over him but his effort was wide of the mark.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – Nice to get ourselves in front with an early goal, and what a goal it was! We've been the better side but Norwich have had their chances. Right now it's similar to Thursday in that we have the lead but need another goal in the second half to create some breathing space."

58' We should have seen a Norwich equaliser as Williams got the better of Tanganga before laying it back to Pukki in the area. He miss-kicked his first-time effort and the slice off the outside of his boot fell conveniently to Idah on the edge of the six-yard box, luckily he struggled with the pace on the ball and his reactionary effort was put wide. A real let-off for Spurs.

66' Nice play from Doherty to cut inside and use the outside of his boot to find Kane on the edge of the area. Kane took a touch a struck right-footed for the bottom corner forcing Krul into a good save to turn it behind for a corner.

Son whipped in the resulting corner, Davies darted toward the near post and flicked it on into the danger area. It bounced off a Norwich player's torso and dropped into the path of centre-back Sánchez in the 6-yard box who lashed it home without any hesitation. 2-0 Spurs.

77' Doherty's dragged back cross missed everyone and was picked up by Davies between the area and the halfway line. He wasted no time rebooting the attack as he played into Skipp and bombed-on for the return, Skipp obliged and gave it back to him just inside the area, he did well to find a short pass sideways into the feet of Son, who took a couple of touches while seeking-out a gap for the shot then laced it across goal into the left side of the net. 3-0.

Spurs went on protecting their clean sheet and semi-threatening to score more up to the final whistle.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – I predicted correctly as it was three goals and three straight wins in the league for Conte. A number of encouraging performances out there again and the Spurs go marching on. Up to 5th now, just two points behind West Ham with a game in hand. COYS!"

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 7 – Made a couple of decent saves when called upon. One iffy moment trying to pass out that thankfully he got away with. Another clean sheet in the end.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 7 – Had his usual shaky moments but improved as the match went on. Good performance on the whole. Won a lot of headers and put in some decent tackles. Grabbed an important goal too which will certainly build his confidence.

• 15. Eric Dier – 8 – Solid at the back again. Put Lloris under pressure with a back pass at one point but didn't make many errors otherwise and lead the backline to keeping a clean sheet.

• 33. Ben Davies – 9 – Another excellent performance from Davies who continues to impress under Conte. Diligent in his defensive work and makes things happen going forward too. Won the header that led to Sánchez's goal then assisted Son's magnificently.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga – 5 – Struggled in that right wing-back position. Was run ragged by Williams who was constantly looking to get at him and was subbed after 60 minutes as he'd started routinely getting the better of him. Still learning.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 9 – Another exceptional performance from our latest academy sensation. Driving run early on that almost resulted in a wondergoal. Looked so sharp and assured in everything he did today against the side he spent a successful loan spell with last season. Won the ball back on numerous occasions through slide tackles and interceptions, and helped put us on the front foot with powerful runs and incisive passes.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 7.5 – Like a cement mixer in the middle of the park again as he kept things ticking over. Seems to have taken up the simpler of the two central midfield roles by winning the ball, passing it on quickly and allowing Skipp to do the majority of work going forward. Went down holding his groin area late on which is a concern. Did manage to play on though. Hopefully he's ok.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 6 – Forced off with what looked like a thigh injury after 22 minutes. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

• 27. Lucas Moura – 9 – Superb. Full of running again. Gave the ball away a lot less and positive throughout with his toeing it around a man and racing onto it dribbles, heel-flick one-twos, and winning of free-kicks around the pitch. Scored a stunning strike to start us off on our way.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 8.5 – Involved in all three goals as he played a one-two with Moura for his, took the corner that led to Sánchez's, then scored the third himself. Strong performance.

• 10. Harry Kane – 7 – Battled away all game. Looked determined to get on the scoresheet as he started getting his head down and doing everything he could to get shots away. Tested Krul a few times but couldn't find the net yet again. Hopefully soon.

Substitutions:

• 3. Sergio Reguilón <-- 22' --> 19. Ryan Sessegnon – 7 – Given a chance following Reguilón's injury. Made a few good bursts down the left side and delivered with low crosses. Did well defensively too. Promising.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga <-- 61' --> 2. Matt Doherty – 7 – Better. Did well to set-up a shot for Kane and found decent positions down the right side a few times.

• 27. Lucas Moura <-- 80' --> 23. Steven Bergwijn – N/A – Showed a nice bit of skill to lay inside to Doherty at one point and had a couple of runs down the right side. Should see more minutes in Europe mid-week.

Man of the Match – 29. Oliver Skipp