Match Report: Kane Inspires Perfect Start to 2015 for Spurs in Victory Over Chelsea
In reference to a 5-4 Arsenal win over Tottenham, José Mourinho once said that “if the score reaches 5-4 I send the players back to the dressing rooms as they are not defending properly. So to get a result like that in a game of 11 against 11 is disgraceful." No one was brave enough to ask him what his thoughts on a 5-3 loss were but after his side’s performance against Tottenham, he couldn’t have happy with his defence.
In his career, Mourinho has only once before seen a side of his ship five goals and that was to Barcelona, while neither of his Chelsea sides had ever conceded 4 goals in a Premier League match, let alone 5. At White Hart Lane, they conceded as many goals against Tottenham as they had in their previous 10 Premier League matches combined. Mourinho will be hoping it’s a result of tired legs and minds over a busy festive period rather than the tipping point in a season which had labelled them 'invincible' just a month ago.
The opening 20 minutes appeared to go to plan for the visitors as they looked to win their sixth London derby of the season. After Eden Hazard’s shot hit the post, Diego Costa was there to pick up the rebound and put Chelsea ahead. But just over 30 minutes later, Chelsea found themselves very much on the wrong side of a 4-1 scoreline.
Mauricio Pochettino was hesitant in his post-match press conference to heap praise on a single player, and said that his first win ever over Mourinho was down to a team effort. The Spurs manager feels that the team have worked very hard as a unit to adopt the style he wants them to play and are finally starting to reap the rewards of all their efforts. No matter how much Pochettino wanted to keep focus on his team, it was Harry Kane that was the undoing of Chelsea’s normally stalwart defence.
Kane was unlucky last month to not score in the reverse fixture, and if it hadn’t been for the crossbar he most definitely would have. His movement and work rate has been too much for Chelsea’s defence to handle, and he was able to capitalise time and again on some uncharacteristically poor defensive positioning on Chelsea’s part. Kane drew the home side level with a rasping shot from outside the box and won a penalty after a clumsy challenge from a struggling Gary Cahill, from which Andros Townsend put Tottenham 3-1 ahead.
Mourinho was swift to make a change to give Nemanja Matic some help in containing Tottenham’s onslaught by bringing Ramires on and although the visitors had a better second half in pulling a couple of goals back themselves, Kane continued his one-man mission to ensure Tottenham supporters would be enjoying their team's start to 2015. He created one and scored the other of Tottenham’s final 2 goals.
Mauricio Pochettino was a gracious winner as he noted that Mourinho and himself are friends, also equating the West London side to Real Madrid. However, if Chelsea are to live up to such praise, they will need to address their away form, winning just 1 of their last 5 league matches away from Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino feels that he can no longer keep Harry Kane hidden from Roy Hodgson - should the striker be considered for an England call-up?
