Mauricio Pochettino was an extremely happy man after Tottenham Hotspur triumphed 3-0 against Norwich City on Boxing Day.
Spurs comfortable in victory
The match itself started slowly, with fans and players looking like they were still recovering from the Christmas festivities. Norwich, fresh off a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford on Saturday, looked organised and well drilled with Belgian Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe testing Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal early on as he made his Premier League debut.
It was Tottenham, however, who eventually settled and took the lead in the 26th minute as Harry Kane raced through before being brought down by Declan Rudd in the away goal. Perhaps a little fortunate not to receive a card, Rudd was left helpless as Kane slotted his penalty away down the middle.
Toby Alderweireld twice went close to adding a second but Rudd responded impressively to keep Norwich within one goal of equalising. However, the lead was eventually increased as the ever impressive Dele Alli set Kane through to double his own personal tally for the day against his former team.
Having led at half time against Newcastle United in their last home fixture, before eventually losing late on, Pochettino had made the importance of starting the second half quickly clear and his side were quickly out the blocks once again.
Alli and Erik Lamela were both denied by Rudd as Norwich started to grow in confidence themselves late on. Just as the side from East Anglia were looking like getting on the scoresheet, Tom Carroll scored his first Premier League goal to seal all three points for his boyhood club with a fine strike from outside the box.
Pochettino labels it 'a fantastic performance'
Pochettino was understandably delighted with his sides performance as they secured a comfortable, yet vital, three points to consolidate their place in the top four with both Manchester United and Crystal Palace dropping points.
The former Southampton and Espanyol boss admitted “the first 15 minutes were difficult” but expressed his satisfaction with the “fantastic performance after that [opening period]."
With fixtures coming thick and fast, a local trip to Watford on Monday next up for Tottenham, Pochettino chose to focus on his young squad which “deserves credit” with virtually every member “enjoying their football at the moment”.
Tom Carroll happy with dominant second half
Tom Carroll echoed the views of his boss, whilst delighted with his second goal of the season. The former England U21 international stating, “we dominated the second half and looked sharp”.
With regard to his first Premier League goal however, Carroll was more critical of his celebration following a strike he claimed he knew was in “as soon as I hit it”. Having left Rudd helpless in the Norwich goal, Carroll claimed “my celebration wasn’t the best!”.
Kane was quick to praise his fellow Tottenham academy product Carroll with his first league goal for their boyhood club. “We’re all delighted, it killed the game off” said the England international when asked about Carroll after the match.
“They were better than us today” admits Neil
Norwich boss Neil was left to reflect honestly on the contest at White Hart Lane, agreeing with Pochettino by saying “there wasn't much in the game until we conceded the penalty".
The former Hamilton boss was gracious in defeat, claiming “we wanted to get something but came up against a good side".
Quickly moving on
Tottenham now head to Watford with back to back wins and consecutive clean sheets. A similar result against a Watford side full of confidence will show the rest of the league that Tottenham, under the guidance of Pochettino, are a side to be taken seriously for the remainder of the season.
Norwich face a different challenge as they head back home to face struggling Aston Villa at Carrow Road on Monday, knowing three points may be vital in their bid to remain in England’s elite division for another season at least.