Tottenham Sends Out an Emphatic Statement with Win

A brace from Harry Kane and Dele Alli assured Tottenham with all three points and a big 4-0 win over Stoke City in dominant fashion at the Britannia Stadium.

With Leiecester City starting their match for the second time ahead of Tottenham in both club’s title run-in, Spurs needed a win to close the gap from eight points to five and against Stoke City, they did just that with an emphatic win on the road.

A dominating 4-0 win — which could have seen more goals if we’re being picky — put Tottenham in the driver’s seat to steer themselves towards a league title despite their current position of second place and being five points behind Leicester.

Speaking of the Foxes, because Jamie Vardy is on the hook for a one-match ban that could potentially rise to two or three games if the English FA decides that Vardy’s actions towards referee Jonathan Moss was inappropriate, then Leicester may be without their star striker for half of their remaining fixtures to close out the season.

This in turn gives Tottenham all of the momentum after dominating both Manchester United and Stoke City in back-to-back matches with a combined scoreline of 7-0 and a strong starting lineup that remained unchanged for two consecutive games.

Obviously Mauricio Pochettino’s side couldn’t have asked for a perfect response after Leicester dropped two points and drew with West Ham yesterday.

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – APRIL 18: Mauricio Pochettino the head coach / manager of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on April 18, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images) /

With this latest victory, there is still more work to be done with Tottenham needing four more wins — and two losses for Leicester — to legitimately have a shot in claiming their first-ever Premier League title and in general, their first division title in over 50-plus years.

There’s no reason why this young Spurs squad can’t win four consecutive games after already winning six straight from January 16 all the way through February 14 (in the Premier League only).

And with West Bromwich Albion coming to White Hart Lane next Monday night, no doubt Tottenham are looking to extend their current unbeaten streak to five matches (three wins and one draw). Not to mention wanting to get revenge after dropping two points in a 1-1 draw on December 5th.

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The only slight concern heading into next week’s fixture against the Baggies at home, is just how much of a knock that Mousa Dembélé suffered during the second half.

The Belgian midfielder was seen limping gingerly but was able to play for 87 minutes before being subbed out with Ryan Mason coming on in his place.

But, with one full week to rest and train, there should be no problems that the 28-year-old can’t be fit in time and playing alongside Eric Dier.

One thing that has helped Leicester City lately — besides luck which they’ve had quite a lot this season — has been the fact that Claudio Ranieri has managed to select the same starting eleven in their past five or six matches.

So far, Mauricio Pochettino has only been able to select the same lineup twice against Manchester United and Stoke City. And with the results that they have shown, with seven goals and two clean sheets, it’s imperative that nothing is changed come next Monday night against West Brom to fully take advantage of their current form.

Next: Spurs Cruise to 4-0 Win Over Stoke

If a change must happen, then Ryan Mason and/or Tom Carroll must step up in Mousa Dembélé’s place and that’s a big ask for two youngsters to help Eric Dier at the center of Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

But again, Dembélé should be fit within a week’s time so there should be no worry.

After Tottenham’s win tonight in dominating fashion against Stoke, it sets Spurs up for a big finish with four matches remaining and a chance to wrestle the Premier League title away from Leicester City’s grasps.