FORGET all the old clichés about Spurs having a soft underbelly and lacking the toughness required for a sustained title challenge.
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| Eriksen (right) bagged a double as Dembele (top left) and Kane also found the net |
They proved that was nonsense with a superb reaction here to the narrow midweek home defeat by Leicester, romping to a victory inspired by two goals from Christian Eriksen.
Midfielder Mousa Dembele also scored and the triumph was capped by a powerhouse penalty late in the game by England striker Harry Kane. It was a vibrant all-round display by Tottenham that delighted manager Mauricio Pochettino.
“I am very happy,” he said. “That was a fantastic reaction by the players and it shows that although they are young they have a very strong mentality.
“It was important to win this game as we did, and now the players must get even stronger.
“I think fourth in the table is a realistic position for us, and it is too early to speak about the title. We have to keep learning and keep improving. The time to set objectives is when there eight, nine or ten games left in the season.”
For the opening half hour Pochettino had been a manager jumping on hot coals down at the touchline as his team failed to capitalise on their almost complete domination of the ball.
Some of that was down to the brilliance of Sunderland’s young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who made a series of flying saves.
Some of it was Tottenham’s desire to tiptoe through the massed defence and find all routes blocked, and some of it was poor shooting.
The frustration only multiplied when Sunderland took a surprise lead in the 41st minute with a wonderfully crafted goal. Adam Johnson played a defence-splitting pass and full-back Patrick Van Aanholt ran clear in the area to score precisely at the near post.
Jermain Defoe had been showing flashes of evergreen energy and excellence for the visitors, but it was only a matter of time before the control of Spurs was translated into goals. They had an instant response to going behind.
He was horribly late trying to tackle Spurs full-back Danny Rose in the box and conceded an obvious penalty. It was dispatched with bravura confidence by Kane, whose all-round performance once again highlighted his international credentials and emphasised why giants like Real Madrid are watching him with envy.
Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce was under the weather and the defeat didn’t brighten his mood.
“Kirchoff has found out how difficult it is in the Premier League,” he said.
“We had to get him on at some stage, and you can’t judge a man on one swallow.
“He knows what the pace is like now. He’s contributed to the loss with the penalty, but we opened up too much --- that was the problem.”
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