Tottenham Hotspur brushed away a quiet Bournemouth side to win 3-0 and close the gap on Premier League leaders Leicester City at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Harry Kane scored the second fastest goal of the season after just 43 seconds of play. Kyle Walker stormed down the right-hand side, slipping the ball into the box for the Englishman to poke home.
Kevin Wimmer then started a simple move from the back, passing to Alli who played a perectly weighted ball into the feet of Kane, who rewarded the play with another goal. The striker has now scored 10 goals in his last 10 games for Tottenham.
Christian Eriksen furthered The Cherries’ misery by adding a third to the scoreboard, after a shot from Kane was spilled by Artur Boruc.
Eddie Howe and Bournemouth had no answer for this potential title-winning team as Spurs now move to within five points of Leicester.
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Tottenham
Hugo Lloris – 6: Did not have too much to do, almost invisible in the first-half.
Kyle Walker – 7.5: Played more like a winger rather than a fullback. Assisted Kane’s goal within 43 seconds after streaking down that right and delivering a deadly cross.
Toby Alderweireld – 7: Had a brief moment of panic due to miscommunication, but was pretty solid for the whole game.
Kevin Wimmer – 7: Fans were worried when he went down, but otherwise played some good passing football.
Danny Rose – 7.5: Consistently got forward and even had a shot after fantastic play with Eriksen, but hit the side netting.
Mousa Dembele – 7: Played well apart of a Tottenham that side was very, very good at home.
Eric Dier – 6.5: Worked hard and was substituted in the dying minutes of the game for Nacer Chadli, received a standing ovation for his efforts.
Erik Lamela – 6: Substituted for Tom Carroll in the 66th minute after failing to steal the spotlight in midfield.
Christian Eriksen – 7.5: Scored the final goal while also producing some outstanding passes.
Dele Alli – 7: Provided the perfect pass for Kane’s second goal. Scored himself, but potentially thanks to a touch from Kane, the goal was ruled offside.
Harry Kane – 8: Scored two goals to put the result beyond doubt early. Has recorded 10 in his last 10 matches.
Substitutes
Tom Carroll – 5.5: Did not really hear too much from him when he came on for Lamela in that last 20 minutes or so, but was involved in the later stages.
Ryan Mason – N/A: Not on pitch long enough.
Nacer Chadli – N/A: Did not see enough of the ball.
Bournemouth
Artur Boruc – 5.5: Spilled a relatively easy save and allowed Eriksen to score. Parried too many shots.
Adam Smith – 6: Involved in an attacking play with Lewis Grabban at one point, but it did not come to anything meaningful for the visitors.
Simon Francis – 6: Defended well to stop Kane from getting his deserved hat-trick.
Steve Cook – 6: Had one of Bournemouth’s only chances with a header over the bar.
Charlie Daniels – 5.5: At moments the Cherries defence seemed to stop, particularly when Eriksen tapped his goal home.
Matt Ritchie – 6: One of Bournemouth’s key men, delivered some decent set pieces and free-kicks. Had to do a lot of defensive work for his side though.
Andrew Surman – 5.5: Not his best day, barely getting a touch on the ball in the first-half. Came a little more alive in the latter stages.
Harry Arter – 5.5: Substituted at halftime.
Max Gradel – 6: Involved in a lot of play, took free-kicks with Ritchie and tried to get something going for Bournemouth. Was replaced by Marc Pugh.
Joshua King – 6.5: One of Bournemouth’s best players today, in a game where not much happened for the away side.
Benik Afobe – 5.5: Was kept well under wraps by the host defence and left the pitch at halftime.
Substitutes
Lewis Grabban – 6.5: Was involved in a lot more play than Afobe, including link-up attacks with King.
Eunan O’Kane – 5.5: Arguably was not as effective a substitution as Grabban, but still added some momentum the Cherries were lacking.
Marc Pugh – 5.5: Came on with 20 minutes to go to try and get something going. Saw some heavy touches and minor mistakes.
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