Striker Harry Kane put the West Bromwich Albion defence to the sword, as he hit a hat-trick in Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 win over the Baggies at the White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men dominated the early proceedings against the out of sorts visitors and took an early lead when Kane finished past Ben Foster from a neat Christian Eriksen through ball. A Gareth McAuley own goal soon after made it 2-0, with Eriksen again involved in the lead up to the goal.
The Lilywhites piled up the pressure after half time, but were thwarted by the brilliance of Foster who was in inspiring form. But Spurs kept coming at them and were finally able to breach Foster’s goal when Kane hit home from Kyle Walker’s cross to double his tally. Five minutes later, he completed his treble after latching onto a beautiful lobbed pass by Dele Alli.
Tottenham won their sixth game in a row and continued making the right noises near the top of the table. Let’s take a look how each Spurs player fared on the evening:
Hugo Lloris – 7
The Tottenham keeper had a quiet night and was untroubled throughout the game as the Baggies failed to get a single shot on target.
Eric Dier – 7
Playing on the right side of the back three, Dier had a comfortable outing. Looked solid while defending and carried the ball out of defence with ease when needed.
Toby Alderweireld – 8
Excellent on the afternoon, providing Spurs with a series of sublime through-balls from the back to put his side in dangerous positions – in opposition area of course. Enjoyed a whopping 93% pass completion rate.
Jan Vertonghen – 6
Again, with not much pressure, excelled with the ball at his feet. However, had to be taken off around the hour mark, after he injured himself chasing after a loose ball.
Kyle Walker – 8
Another energetic performance down the right-side by the Englishman. The way he forced a mistake from Gareth McAuley in the build-up to the third goal was exactly what makes him the best right-back in the business.
Victor Wanyama – 8
Burst forward excellently throughout as he had very little to do in the defensive sense. Showed his complete range and abilities and was an imposing presence for Tottenham.
Moussa Dembele – 8
Dynamic and energetic, Dembele completely overpowered the West Brom midfield and was the key for Tottenham dominating to such an extent in the game.
Danny Rose – 8
Pinned down the West Brom players in their own half with his forward forays throughout. Excellent in tackles, brilliant going forward, Rose is proving his worth with each match for Tottenham.
Christian Eriksen – 9
The creative hub for Tottenham on the afternoon. Exploited the spaces in between the lines brilliantly to run the show throughout the match. Set up Kane with a lovely pass for the first goal, before firing a ferocious shot that was deflected in by McAuley for the second. Absolute genius.
Dele Alli – 8
Scored a stunner only for it to be ruled out for offside. Continued to build on his quality displays from recent weeks and capped off the performance with a delightful lobbed assist for Kane’s third strike.
Harry Kane – 10
DEVASTATING. Having missed a sitter in the 4th minute, Kane more than made up for it with three excellent goals. It wouldn’t have been surprising to see him score six on the evening, if not for Ben Foster’s heroics in the Baggies’ goal. Was taken off in the 89th minute to a rousing standing ovation.
Substitutes
Ben Davies – 7
Replaced the injured Vertonghen in the 64th minute. Did not have much to defensively as his team attacked relentlessly and dominated.
Harry Winks – NA
Came on for Moussa Dembele in the 83rd minute.
Son Heung – Min – NA
Replaced Kane with just a minute of normal time left to play.