Premier League, White Hart Lane - Tottenham 4 (Eriksen 42, 67, Dembele 60, Kane 79) Sunderland 1 (Van Aanholt 40)
Tottenham got their unlikely title challenge back on track with a
convincing win over Sunderland at White Hart Lane, with Christian
Eriksen scoring a brace.
Spurs went into the game without a win in 2016 in all
competitions, while visitors Sunderland arrived in north London looking
to start a new year with three straight wins for the first time in 66
years. And the first half followed a predictable pattern, with Spurs
struggling to break down the massed ranks of Sunderland and the visitors
playing almost exclusively on the break.
Chances were few and far between until Adam Johnson’s peach of a pass picked out the run of Patrick van Aanholt
in behind the Tottenham defence and the full-back scored with
Sunderland’s very first shot on target. But the lead didn’t last long –
91 seconds to be precise – with Eriksen scoring thanks to a shambles of
a goal-line clearance by Lee Cattermole.
Spurs upped their game in the second half, but it was a tactical
switch to a five at the back by Sam Allardyce that proved the turning
point.
The introduction of Jan Kirchhoff
for his Sunderland debut certainly made an impact, but not the sort
that Big Sam would have wanted. The defender failed to close down Mousa
Dembele as the Belgian put Spurs ahead, then only dangled a leg to
deflect Eriksen’s shot beyond his helpless goalkeeper, and finally
barged into Danny Rose to give away a penalty that Harry Kane duly dispatched to make it 4-1.
Sunderland – and hopefully Kirchhoff – will have better
afternoons as they look to avoid relegation in the remainder of the
season, while Spurs are back to winning ways and on track to make an
unexpected title bid.
KEY MOMENTS
4’ – SAVE – Kane picks up the ball 25 yards
from goal and unleashes a curling strike that is heading for the bottom
corner until Pickford stretches out a hand to make a good save.
40’ – GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Sunderland: Patrick van Aanholt latches on to a glorious pass from Johnson and slots his shot under Hugo Lloris and into the back of the net. That was Sunderland's first shot on target but the only stat that matters is that they're 1-0 up!
42’ – GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland: Spurs
hit back straight away. Eriksen slides in Kane, whose shot is saved but
falls kindly for Eriksen on the rebound. The Dane's shot should have
been cleared off the line by Cattermole, but he makes a complete hash of
it and can only slice into his own net. 1-1.
45’ – SAVE – Pickford makes a brilliant save
to fingertip Eriksen's shot around the post. That looked like a goal all
the way, but the young stopper had other ideas.
60’ – GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Sunderland: Dembele
puts Spurs ahead, cutting on to his left foot inside the box and
burying a shot at the near post. Pickford had no chance with that one
and berates his defenders for allowing the Belgian the space to turn and
shoot, but it was an excellent finish by the midfielder. 2-1 Spurs.
66’ – GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Sunderland: Christian
Eriksen is given way too much time to line up a shot from distance, but
he obliges and sees his effort take a deflection off Kirchhoff and loop
into the back of the net. 3-1 Spurs.
78’ – PENALTY – It's a penalty to Spurs as
Danny Rose is completely cleared out by Kirchhoff inside the box. You
don't get a much more of a penalty than that.
79’ – GOAL! Tottenham 4-1 Sunderland: Harry Kane dispatches the penalty and it's 4-1 to Spurs. Game over.
KEY STATS
Spurs are now unbeaten in 12 against Sunderland in the Premier League.
But Tottenham have also not led at half-time in any of those 12 meetings.
Christian Eriksen has scored in all four of his Premier League games against Sunderland.
TALKING POINT
Why did Big Sam change his tactics? Sunderland
were looking pretty solid until Allardyce switched to a five at the
back early in the second half… and it all unravelled from there for the
Black Cats. It was a bizarre switch, leaving space for Tottenham’s
central attacking players to exploit and pulling the centre-backs out of
their familiar positions, but you have to feel particularly sorry for
poor Kirchhoff. The debutant will get the blame for his team’s
capitulation, but his manager is just as culpable.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur):
Eriksen hasn’t been at his scintillating best this season, but he was
too much for Sunderland’s defence to deal with and has now scored in
every single league appearance against the Black Cats. His tactical
flexibility – switching from a central role to out on the left wing – is
a development in his game that has gone virtually unnoticed, but is a
big positive for Spurs.
PLAYER RATINGS
Spurs: Lloris 6; Trippier 6, Alderweireld 8, Vertonghen 7, Rose 6; Dier 7, Dembele 8; Lamela 8, Eriksen 9, Alli 8; Kane 7. Subs: Onomah 6, Carroll 6, Son 6.
Sunderland: Pickford 9; Jones 5, O’Shea 5, Brown 4, Van Aanholt 7; Cattermole 4, M’Vila 6, Johnson 7, Lens 6; Defoe 6, Graham 5. Subs: Rodwell 5, Kirchhoff 1, Watmore 5.
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