Tottenham Hotspur began 2021 in style, defeating Leeds United 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Harry Kane's 29th-minute penalty got Spurs off to a flying start before Heung-min Son doubled the hosts lead two minutes before halftime. Toby Alderweireld added a third in the 50th minute.
The victory sends Tottenham up to third in the Premier League table while Leeds remain 11th following their first loss in their last three league outings.
Story of the match
Leeds had the first chance of the match inside of four minutes, Jack Harrison playing in Mateusz Klich, who set up Ezgjan Alioski, but he fired narrowly wide into the side netting.
The same three would combine for the Whites' next chance, this time Alioski starting thr build-up play by sending Harrison into the box and he fed Klich, who missed the target under pressure.
Klich then played Patrick Bamford forward and he played a clever one-two with Rodrigo, but he couldn't get enough on his shot to seriously test Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
In the 17th minute the hosts had their first real opportunity of the match from a free-kick, Son playing a wonderful lay-off to Kane, but he fired over.
After stealing the ball in the Leeds end, Steven Bergwijn had a go from 25 yards going wide while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg forced Leeds goalkeeper Ilian Meslier into a fine save from another set-piece.
Spurs were then in front on 29 minutes. Following a review by VAR, Alioski was shown to have brought Bergwijn down in the box and Kane beat Meslier to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Seeking a second, Kane fired just wide two minutes later while at the other end Rodrigo forced Lloris into first meaningful save of the match.
Both teams continued to create good chances, Ben Davies setting up Bergwijn, who couldn't keep his effort down and Bamford saw his shot blocked following a ball from Alioski.
In the 41st minute, Harrison nearly levelled the match, set up by Klich 20 yards out and just missed beating Lloris in the top corner by inches.
The miss proved to be costly as Spurs made it 2-0 after Kane's cross was turned home by Son and that would be the scoreline heading into the dressing room.
Five minutes into the second half, the scoring was complete when Tanguy Ndombele forced Meslier into a good save and Alderweireld headed home from the resulting corner.
Despite not having much possession, Spurs made what they did have count, Kane firing into the side netting, Bergwijn was denied by Meslier and the England international again misfired from a narrow angle.
Pablo Hernandez was brought on by Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa and he twice went close, both being deflected just wide from the edge of the box.
Raphinha then did some good work, combining with Stuart Dallas to test Lloris, but the Spurs keeper stopped the shot and he kept out Bamford's header soon after.
Matt Doherty was sent off for the hosts after being shown a second yellow card, the only blemish on a fine day for Jose Mourinho's men as they prepare for an EFL Cup semi-final against Brentford on Tuesday.
Man of the match: Harry Kane
His pass to set up Son's goal was picture-perfect, he scored from the spot and was a danger throughout the match. Continues to perform brilliantly this season, now up to 10 goals and 11 assists on the season.
Takeaways
Kane, Son may be the most lethal duo in the Premier League
They've already combined to break the single-season record (13) for goals and Spurs have only played 16 games. The second goal illustrated this in full. The pass from Kane was exquisite, the run from Son was brilliant and the awareness they have where the other is on the field will make them one of the great tandems in Premier League history.
Leeds' defensive frailties continue
It's a shame the defense was so shambolic because at the other end, they created plenty of good chances and threatened for most of the match, but giveaways were their undoing. Their style lends itself to the top teams in the league exposing them, none more evident than on Alderweireld's goal, which continued to exploit their issues dealing with set pieces.