Tottenham’s defense has kept the team in all of their games and while it has cost them 9 points in the Premier League (Manchester United, Stoke City and Leicester City) the defense helped them reach 5th in the table after a great September with 9 points won (Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Manchester City).
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The Citizens have scored in each of their last 14 Premier League away trips to London. But Kane, even when failing to find the target, was always looking very lively. After plundering 31 goals last season, remarks about not being able to reproduce in a second campaign had evidently got under the skin of the striker. My feeling was Dier can play there.
The defensive midfielder’s bullet from the edge of the box punished City, who failed to clear following Son Heung-min’s smothered shot – a goal the visitors were furious at as Walker was clearly offside before playing in the cross that started it.
Dier is one player who could make the step up from under-21 to the senior squad, and the defender has revelled in a holding midfield role that Mauricio Pochettino admitted was an intuitive switch in pre-season.
The Spanish maestro had been City’s best player last season, despite the side struggling in general.
It’s interesting to see the positions Kane received the ball in against City – they’re far from the pattern you’d expect for a poacher.
“Once you are in Europe you have to be at your absolute best to compete in that competition too”, said Nicolas Otamendi, the centre back who has formed a distinctly unimpressive partnership with Martin Demichelis in the absence of the injured Vincent Kompany.
Kane had gone close to breaking his duck for Spurs on a number of occasions, including a spectacular scissor kick in the previous game against Arsenal on Wednesday that beat the goalkeeper but was headed off the line.
One particular fan came to the aid of Caballero on Instagram. Hopefully I can build on this. It came quite quickly and it seemed to be slow motion and it just managed to creep in that top corner, so of course I’m delighted.
“Sometimes you need a bit of luck and I probably have not had that this season”. “It’s only been eight games and a few people were saying “one-season wonder” already”. It’s frustrating more than anything. I’ve had to prove people wrong throughout my career to get where I have, because it wasn’t easy coming through as a youngster.
“Maybe I shut up a few people who have been talking over the last few weeks”, Kane said.
Kane’s performance, though, shouldn’t be judged simply by goalscoring.
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But Mbabu was one of the weekend’s true success stories, taming the Spaniard and then dealing with Eden Hazard when Chelsea mixed things up, as Newcastle were desperately unlucky not to claim their first win of the season.
