Tottenham vs Leicester result: Five things we learned as brilliant Harry Kane inspires Spurs to victory

England captain produced his finest performance of 2020

Tottenham produced a strong performance to beat Leicester 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Harry Kane was the star of the show for his team as they moved up to sixth in the Premier League with one game to play.

Just minutes into the game, Son Heung-min was fed by Kane down the left channel and, after cutting inside, saw his shot deflected into the net by James Justin for an own goal.

Kane then took centre stage himself with two goals in three minutes to essentially wrap the points up by half time.

Here are five things we learned during the game on Sunday afternoon.

Kane returns to form

Kane celebrates after putting Spurs in control (Getty)

This is the Harry Kane which gives Spurs an edge over almost every team they face: a powerful top man, excellent movement, lethal finishing.

His goals were both superbly taken, the finishes of a striker in confident mood and sharp, fully fit after a few recent struggles to look the part.

But Kane’s goals were only part of the performance; he had runners off him allowing his creative work was on show too, with a second-half reverse pass to Son the pick of them.

Individual moments, team build-up involvement, occupying the entire back three by himself – this was a huge performance from Kane and Spurs will hope to have it available more often next season.

Leicester’s positives to take

There’s plenty to be disappointed about for Leicester right now, given they’ve dropped 13 points in the last seven games.

But had they been ninth heading into lockdown and then barn-stormed their way to a fifth-place finish, Brendan Rodgers would be taking plaudits for getting them a Europa League spot, so there must be some acceptance that this is still a good campaign overall.

On the day, there were individuals who still performed well, despite the defeat.

Luke Thomas again fared well at left-wing back, showing good crossing ability and intent to attack. Harvey Barnes was non-stop with his work rate and desire to dribble, and later played well in central areas. But there weren’t enough players who did well and not enough of a team collective defensively to stop Spurs.

Lo Celso, the new Sneijder?

Lo Celso accepts a drink (Getty)

Giovani Lo Celso played an understated, but important, role for Spurs again here – just as he has done several times in recent games.

There’s a case to be made that he’s one of the most important cogs in the Jose Mourinho team, from a tactical perspective: defensively always working hard, good positionally and willing to drop deep, but on the ball so very capable of launching the counters that the manager’s teams rely on.

Lo Celso was the creative hub from deep, playing passes between the lines, joining up with the forwards from the second line of attack and always looking to make a quick ball through to the outlets down the flanks.

There’s not the elite level of talent or the goals, of course, but his role isn’t dissimilar to that played by Wesley Sneijder in Mourinho’s great Inter Milan side – and it will mean Dele Alli has a huge job on to win a place in the team again.

Last-day shootout

For Leicester it’s all going to come down to the last day for their Champions League aspirations.

As noted above, even a Europa League spot will be a success of sorts, but it would be bittersweet having been third for a long part of the season.

The Foxes play Manchester United at home next Sunday and it really will be winner-takes-all from Leicester’s perspective, though even a draw might be enough for United if they take something against West Ham in midweek.

Goal difference could yet play a part and there’s still an improbable sequence of events which could see Leicester go back above Chelsea, but all that matters for Brendan Rogers’ team now is they’ve got one final chance to create their own destiny in Europe next season.f

Jose’s step forward

Conversely, Spurs can only get into the Europa League, but given their own starting point when Mourinho took over, that will be something of an achievement in itself.

The boss has already spoken about putting plans in place this term for next season and being in Europe is a key part of that for him.

Getting three points here is huge, then, though it could still be that Spurs rely on the outcome of the FA Cup if they are to play in the second-tier European competition next term.

All he can do is keep helping his side win matches and four of the last five have seen that exact outcome.

Steps forward for Spurs, even if they must wait to see if they have taken too long to make them.