Sam Allardyce’s decision to play three at the back for Sunderland backfired as they lost 4-1 to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Harry Kane scored his 51st goal for Spurs and the fourth of the day, in the form of a penalty. Defender Danny Rose pushed forward before being fouled by debutant Jan Kirchoff. Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen had previously added to the tally with two fine strikes from range. Dembele took the ball on his favoured left foot and struck it across his body and hard into the net. Eriksen was instrumental in the equalizer and was too much for defender Lee Cattermole to deal with in the first half.
? Our fine 4-1 win over Sunderland this afternoon, in pictures… #COYS pic.twitter.com/8MfLpsst6Y
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 16, 2016
The Dane also scored a fine goal that looped over Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford. Sunderland originally went ahead against the run of play through a well struck shot from Patrick Van Aanholt. A superb pass from Adam Johnson went past an out-of-position Dele Alli, before the Dutchman scored in the 40th minute. Their lead only lasted 91 seconds. Sunderland manager Allardyce decided to change the shape of his team, taking off an already booked Cattermole. Just three were at the back, which ultimately backfired. Kirchoff on his debut was all over the place, and was lazy in the attempt to block the shot from Eriksen.
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