Harry Kane was delighted to help Tottenham Hotspur return to winning ways after his brace helped the north Londoners to ease to a 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.
After Liverpool failed to close the gap on Antonio Conte’s side to just three points after their 1-0 defeat to strugglers Bournemouth, it represented the chance for Tottenham to extend their advantage over the Merseysiders in the race for a top four finish.
Spurs thought they had taken the lead inside when Richarlison, who had questioned his lack of opportunities earlier in the week found the back of the net inside the first three minutes, but the video assistant referee disallowed the goal for offside.
There was no concern of any VAR intervention when Kane broke the deadlock with a trademark header from Pedro Porro’s cross to wrongfoot Keylor Navas in the Forest goal to ease the tension at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Spurs skipper scored his 20th goal of the Premier League campaign from the penalty spot after Richarlison was felled in the area, which was his first attempt from twelve yards since his World Cup heartbreak.
Heung-mi Son added a third in the second half before Joe Worrall headed in a consolation for Forest nine minutes before the end, and also had the opportunity to make for a tense finish only for Fraser Forster to deny Andre Ayew from the penalty spot.
Kane was pleased to see more creativity in the opposite end of the pitch and called for it to continue as they look to finish the season strongly to ensure they once again take their place in European football’s most prestigious club competition.
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Kane told the Premier League website: “It was a performance that we needed and it’s great to bounce back. We had better quality in the final third and more confidence – we’ll need more of that before the end of the season.
“I’m my own biggest critic, but it’s nice to get a couple today and keep helping the team”
SpursWeb Opinion
While a home match against Forest should be an expected three points, it was an important victory given the current toxicity and uncertainty surrounding the club.
It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Spurs after they passed up a brilliant opportunity to win their first FA Cup since 1991 after losing at Sheffield United and failed to threaten AC Milan’s 1-0 advantage to end their European adventure.
Spurs now have the chance to open up a gap in the battle for the final Champions League spot with the north Londoners playing Southampton next weekend before Liverpool play again, against Manchester City on April 1st and could be nine points clear by then.
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