Tottenham 2-0 West Brom: 5 talking points as Kane and Son sink Baggies | Premier League 2020-21
Second half goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son helped Tottenham record a 2-0 victory over West Brom at White Hart Lane in the Premier League.
The big news in the buildup to the game was the return to full fitness of the Spurs number 10 and Jose Mourinho included the England international in the starting lineup.
Tottenham started the game on the front foot and asked all the question in the first half. But dogged defending, coupled with an insipred performance from Sam Johnstone, ensured that both sides went into the break level.
There was a chance right on the stroke of half-time for the visitors when Mbaye Diagne headed at goal from point-blank range but Hugo Lloris dived low to his right to pull off a stunning save.
Neither side made changes at the interval and Tottenham started the second half the way they ended the first. The Lily Whites finally got the breakthrough their dominance deserved when an excellent counterattack was finished off by Harry Kane.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played a pin-point through ball after a quick break. Kane controlled excellently, before placing his right-footed shot into the bottom corner.
This gave the hosts added incentive and they doubled their lead soon after. Lucas Moura ran almost the entire length of the field, dragged the West Brom defense to himself, before setting Son up with a through pass.
The South Korea international made no mistake from 14 yards out, sending Johnstone the wrong way with his right-footed shot.
The rest of the half was played with Tottenham controlling the tempo, although West Brom twice had the ball in the back of the net, only to be ruled offside.
The win sees Tottenham climb up to 7th on the table, four points behind the top four. Here are five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Tottenham get back to winning ways
Tottenham came into this game having lost their last three matches in the Premier League. These debilitating defeats had seen them lose touch of the top four and all but ended their title aspirations.
It also marked the first time that Jose Mourinho had lost three consecutive Premier League games in his managerial career.
A clash with an out-of-sorts West Brom represented the best opportunity for the north London outfit to get back on track, and despite a frustrating first half, they ultimately got the job done.
This victory will help instill confidence in a side that had looked toothless in the last few weeks. It also puts them in the right frame of mind for upcoming marquee clashes against Everton and Manchester City.
#4 Firefighter Sam Allardyce losing battle to keep West Brom up
West Brom secured promotion to the top flight last season by virtue of their second-place finish in the Championship last term.
They, however, struggled to get going in the early stages of the campaign, leading to the sack of former manager Niko Kovac.
They turned to Sam Allardyce to help keep them up, and with over half of the season to go, there was genuine belief that he could get the job done.
Sam Allardyce is famous for his ability to keep struggling clubs in the Premier League. His firefighting approach usually sees his sides frustrate opponents with low-blocks and for the most part, this tactic has proved useful.
A 1-1 draw away to Liverpool in just his second game in charge raised belief that the 66-year-old could keep the Baggies up. It has, however, been downhill from there, with just one win registered since that Anfield game.
Against Tottenham, the West Midlands outfit frustrated their hosts throughout the first half but saw their resiastance broken with two breakaway goals.
This loss means that West Brom are now nine points from safety, having played a game more. At this stage, it will take something special for them to remain in the Premier League next season.