Tottenham Hotspur continued their fine run of form with a 2-1 victory away to Stoke City, equalling Liverpool’s points with a game in hand. Christian Eriksen secured a brace to add to the wonder strike he scored at Stamford Bridge last week, with Mame Biram Diouf also scoring for Stoke in the second half.

In the first half it was Spurs who had control of the game, however chances fell to Diouf in the 12th minute but he fired over the bar on both occasions.

As the half progressed it was clear that Stoke had some joy down Spurs’ right side with Serge Aurier failing to beat the first man on numerous occasions with his crossing. On the 23rd minute Heung-Min Son was played through however his low shot was brilliantly denied by Jack Butland, who came out off his line quickly and got his legs down to the ball. Spurs ended the half in a creative manner, with Dele Alli playing a clever ball behind the Stoke back line, however Son received the ball in an offside position.

Eriksen strikes sandwiched by Diouf

The second-half began with Stoke really pushing to try and score, with Diouf’s low shot saved by Hugo Lloris just one minute into the half. However, in the 52nd minute it was Mousa Dembele who fed Alli through on goal, and the Englishman stopped his run in order to tee up Eriksen for a low hit, curled finish into the bottom corner to put Spurs ahead.

Stoke responded in fine fashion just five minutes later, with Xherdan Shaqiri elegantly putting Diouf through on goal with Lloris coming off his line. The Frenchman’s clearance rebounded off Diouf and he passed the ball into an empty net to put Stoke level.

It was Spurs who responded to the equaliser in the 63rd minute with a free kick out wide on the left side, with Eriksen curling a ball in towards Harry Kane. The Englishman claims that he gained a touch as the ball went into the net however officials who have reviewed the goal have awarded it to the Dane. Mauricio Pochettino introduced Erik Lamela and Eric Dier to add flare and solidity in hunt for a third goal to kill off a Stoke comeback.

The only real chance of a revival came from Shaqiri who saw his curled free kick from just outside the box hit the post in the 80th minute. Pochettino added Moussa Sissoko to the action and after a lengthy six minutes of added time due to Diouf’s injury after his goal, Spurs secured yet another win which sees them draw level with Liverpool’s points tally for the season with an extra game to play.

 

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