Tottenham’s Season in Ten Matches
By Ryan Wrenn
Sunderland 0 – 1 Tottenham, September 13th
Pre-season predictions of another lackluster campaign seemed to be dead on in the first few weeks of the Premier League season. A loss to Manchester United on opening day precluded a run of three straight draws against Stoke City, Leicester and Everton.
It was clear that Tottenham’s defense was tighter than it had been, but with Harry Kane misfiring and other elements of the attack still settling in for the season it wasn’t at all clear when the other half of their game would show up.
Indeed, right up through the 80th minute it seemed possible that Sunderland might actually sneak one past Hugo Lloris and win. And then, the once-much-maligned Érik Lamela got subbed on. The Argentinian proved his worth as a play maker, coming deep for the ball and setting up an on-rushing Ryan Mason, who subsequently send the ball past Sunderland keeper Costil Pantilimon to score the match-winning goal.
It was Tottenham’s first win of the season, and set up a run of results that would see Mauricio Pochettino earn his first Premier League Manager of the Month award with Tottenham.
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