Harry Kane continued his single-handed assault on the record books when he scored Tottenham Hotspur’s opening goal in their comeback 2-2 draw at Juventus in the Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday. Kane’s 35th minute effort was his seventh goal in the competition this season -- matching Steven Gerrard whose seven for Liverpool in the 2008-09 campaign had stood as a record for an English player. Not only that but Kane’s nine-goal haul from his first nine games is more than any other player in the history of Europe’s blue-riband club competition -- one more than the quartet of Ronaldinho, Simone Inzaghi, Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. Kane has scored nine goals in his last eight games in all competitions and has 33 for the season -- more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues. The 24-year-old, who this month reached 100 Premier League goals in only 141 appearances, could have added to his tally on Tuesday but for two great saves by Juve’s veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon in the first half. With the twice Premier League Golden Boot winner in this sort of form, however, Tottenham will feel they can topple Juventus in the second leg at Wembley next month -- indeed they will be favourites to do so. Kane, who bagged Tottenham’s winner against rivals Arsenal last weekend, paid tribute to the way his team mates recovered from conceding twice in the first nine minutes on Tuesday -- Gonzalo Higuain striking twice for the hosts.
“We could have capitulated, away from home in the Champions League. It showed character,” he said. “It was an excellent performance after that and we take two away goals to Wembley. A great result.” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side had been sloppy in the opening 10 minutes but felt they should have been celebrating a victory after recovering to enjoy 62 percent of the possession against a side starting with seven of the players who began last year’s final against Real Madrid in Cardiff. His opposite number Massimiliano Allegri said his side had been taken aback by Tottenham’s riposte. “We started very well but then we struggled to keep the ball because Tottenham were playing so well,” he said. “After going 2-0 up, we did not decide to defend deep, Tottenham forced us to. After their second goal, however, we were the more dangerous side.”
London: Ten-man Chelsea suffered another setback in their stumbling season as they lost 4-1 at Watford on Monday after conceding three late goals to go down to their second straight Premier League defeat. Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all scored late on in response to Eden Hazard dragging Chelsea back into the game with a curler in the 82nd minute after Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off for a second booking on the half-hour. Chelsea cruised to the title in coach Antonio Conte’s first campaign in England last season but they are 19 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City and are focused on finishing in the top four Champions League qualification spots. Chelsea sit in fourth spot, a point behind third-placed Liverpool and one ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.
“I tried to warn everyone about the difficulty of our path in the league and Champions League,” said Chelsea coach Antonio Conte. “We performed very bad but maybe I made the mistakes with the starting XI today. My choice was very poor I think.” Mid-table Watford had taken the lead in the 43rd with a Troy Deeney penalty after Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois brought down on-loan Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu. By that stage, Chelsea were down to 10 men after their France midfielder Bakayoko was booked twice for challenges in the space of a few minutes before the half-hour mark. Watford reacted quickly to Hazard’s equaliser as defender Janmaat exchanged passes with Pereyra before shooting low past Courtois. Deulofeu sealed the win in the 88th with his first goal for the club before Pereyra got the fourth in added time. Monday’s loss has added to the pressure on Conte, who faces more questions about his future after a poor start to 2018 which has seen Chelsea knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal before they lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth last week in the league. “My position? It is the same. I stay here, try to work and put all myself in the work,” Conte told Sky Sports. “The pressure? What is the pressure? I work - if this is enough it is, OK. Otherwise the club has to take another decision.” It was a different story for new Watford manager Javi Gracia who modestly described the victory in his first home match in charge as a “good beginning” for his side, who sit in 11th place but are still only six points clear of the relegation zone. “I think it is important not only for three points but for the motivation to believe in our possibilities,” Gracia told reporters. “I think it is very important today.”
London: Tottenham Hotspur must replicate the form they displayed to outclass Manchester United in midweek if they are to get past an in-form Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday, striker Harry Kane said. Tottenham produced a dominant display to beat United 2-0 at Wembley on Wednesday, scoring through midfielder Christian Eriksen on 11 seconds before United defender Phil Jones turned Kieran Trippier’s cross into his own net on the hour mark. Kane said the fifth-placed London club cannot let their guard down against Liverpool, after suffering a 2-0 defeat in the corresponding fixture last season. “We have got to put in the same performance as we did against United,” Tottenham’s top scorer Kane said.
”Liverpool are a strong team, especially at home when they are on the attack. They have some fast players and last season we didn’t cope with that very well. “We were poor throughout the whole team, but we can take confidence from the United game. This is the kind of performance we need to produce against the big teams both at home and away.” Tottenham beat Juergen Klopp’s side 4-1 when the two teams met earlier this season but third-placed Liverpool are a tougher prospect at home, where they are unbeaten in 14 league matches. “We played well against Liverpool at Wembley so we have to go to Anfield full of confidence,” Kane added. Midfielder Lucas Moura, Tottenham’s new signing from French club Paris St Germain, watched on as the London club beat United and Kane said he was looking forward to seeing what the Brazilian brings to the table.
London: Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. Pep Guardiola’s runaway leaders, whose new record signing Aymeric Laporte enjoyed an impressive debut, surged 15 points clear of their neighbours, who were outplayed by Spurs at Wembley after Christian Eriksen scored in just under 11 seconds. The last night of the transfer window provided a fascinating backdrop to the midweek fixture list with Chelsea’s final-day signing Olivier Giroud doubtless shocked at Stamford Bridge to see the champions suffer a remarkable 3-0 loss to Bournemouth. Manchester City’s 12th straight league home win, thanks to goals from Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, took them to 68 points - level with Tottenham Hotspur in 1960-61 as the best record by any club after 25 matches of an English top-flight season. Manchester United are on 53 points with Chelsea dropping to fourth on 50, the same as third-placed Liverpool. Spurs moved to within two points of the pair on 48. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City took their tally of goals in all competitions this season to 100 when the outstanding De Bruyne, who had provided a superb first-half assist for Fernandinho to shoot home, scored their second.
Frenchman Laporte, signed from Athletic Bilbao for a City club record of 57 million pounds ($80.9 million) on Tuesday, slotted into their defence comfortably. His debut left Guardiola enthusing: “Yesterday he made the first training session but today we saw how good he is. He made an amazing, amazing performance.” The match of the night at Wembley, though, played in front of a record crowd for a Premier League game of 81,978, proved a disappointing one for Jose Mourinho as his own major signing Alexis Sanchez failed to shine after United had conceded a “ridiculous” early goal. Eriksen cashed in with a neat finish after Spurs had launched a long ball straight from kickoff that was flicked on by Harry Kane and Dele THIRD FASTEST Timed at just under 11 seconds, it equalled the third fastest goal scored in the Premier League era after the 10-second efforts netted by former Spurs favourite Ledley King and Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer. When Phil Jones, who was bullied by Kane for the first goal, hammered the ball clumsily into his own net when trying to clear from Kieran Trippier’s cross midway through the first half, Mourinho conceded that the own goal “mentally killed us”. “After 10 seconds, we made a ridiculous mistake,” Mourinho told reporters. “My players have watched the Tottenham kickoff many, many times. It was a really, really bad goal.” Antonio Conte suffered one of his worst Premier League defeats at Chelsea after three second-half goals in the space of 16 minutes from Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Nathan Ake earned Eddie Howe his best top-flight win with the Cherries. “We have to accept it’s a bad result and understand that we have to fight this season,” Conte told the BBC. West Brom’s defeat left them rooted at the foot of the table while Southampton also remain in the bottom three despite largely dominating while coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton are just a point above the relegation zone alongside Newcastle, who have now not won a home league match in eight attempts after goalkeeper Karl Darlow’s 85th-minute own goal earned Burnley a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park. Stoke City’s goalless draw with Watford also left them alongside Newcastle and Brighton, just four points ahead of West Brom.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was named December's Premier League manager of the month for a record fourth consecutive time, while Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane equalled Steven Gerrard's tally with his sixth player of the month award. Kane scored eight goals in six matches last month, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Burnley and Southampton, to finish 2017 with a record tally of 39 Premier League goals. The 24-year-old is now level with former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard with six player of the month awards, the most for any player in the competition's history. Kane claimed the prize ahead of seven other nominees - Chelsea's Marcos Alonso, West Ham United's Marko Arnautovic, Liverpool duo Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, Jesse Lingard of Manchester United, Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez and Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi. Guardiola's team remains unbeaten and 15 points clear at the top of the league standings. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had been the only previous coach to win the award three times in a row during Chelsea's title winning campaign last season. To win the December prize, Guardiola topped a six-man shortlist that also included Conte, Everton's Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson of Crystal Palace, Liverpool's Juergen Klopp and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino. Source: News Agency
