Crystal Palace 0-4 Tottenham: Kane double gets Spurs back on track

Harry Kane moved within two goals of tying Jimmie Greaves’ all-time record for Tottenham as his second-half doubled inspired them to a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace.

Spurs had resumed their Premier League campaign in disappointing fashion, coming from behind to draw 2-2 at Brentford before losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa.

It looked like being another underwhelming game for Tottenham in a lacklustre first half, but Kane lifted them back to winning ways in style.

His brace on his 300th top-flight appearance took him to 264 goals for the club and within striking distance of Greaves (266) before Matt Doherty and Son Heung-min made it a rout as Tottenham moved two points adrift of the top four.

300 – Harry Kane is just the second Premier League player to score on his 100th, 200th and 300th appearance in the competition after Teddy Sheringham. Milestones. pic.twitter.com/5Bj1U5R6Sk

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2023

Spurs found themselves under pressure for much of the first half and were grateful to Hugo Lloris’s smart stop denying Jordan Ayew after a neat one-two between Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze.

Lloris was nearly caught out by a long-range effort from Joachim Andersen but it was the Palace goal that was breached 155 seconds after the restart.

England captain Kane could hardly have asked for a simpler finish, his task in nodding in at the far post made much easier by Ivan Perisic’s superb right-wing cross.

Kane doubled his tally just under five minutes later when he collected a whipped low ball in by Bryan Gil and lashed beyond Vicente Guaita and into the bottom-left corner.

The points were made safe with a first goal of the season for Doherty, whose close-range shot had too much power for Guaita following good work from Kane and Son.

Son had the final say, winning a tussle with Marc Guehi to latch on to Kane’s lofted ball and fire in his first league goal since his hat-trick against Leicester City in September.

What does it mean? – Second-half cruise should calm Conte talk

Antonio Conte’s comments ahead of this game sparked fears he could soon leave the club, indicating he may do so if he feels Spurs cannot challenge for Premier League and European glory.

Conte’s contract expires at the end of the season, but Wednesday’s performance may have served as a reminder to the former Chelsea boss that Spurs do have the quality to contend for more than simply a place in the top four.

Talk of him departing will die down if they continue in this vein.

Kane and Son overhaul Salah and Mane

Kane and Son netted in the same Premier League game for the 34th time, overtaking Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for the most of any pair in the competition.

Should Son rediscover his Golden Boot form of last season and make such games a regular occurrence in the second half of this campaign, Tottenham will likely have no problem securing a Champions League place.

34 – Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have now both scored in 34 different Premier League games together, overtaking Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as the most of any duo in the competition. Partners. pic.twitter.com/mzMLtEsRKd

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2023

Bryan breaks his duck

Bryan set up Kane for his second with a fine delivery from the right, marking his first goal involvement in the Premier League in his 12th appearance.

Key Opta facts

– Tottenham scored first in a Premier League game for the first time since October against Everton, ending a run of seven successive games in the competition conceding the opening goal.

– This is Tottenham’s joint-biggest London derby win away from home in the Premier League, after beating Wimbledon 6-2 in May 1998. Similarly, it was Crystal Palace’s joint-biggest London derby defeat at home in the top-flight, following a pair of 5-1 defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea in 1969-70.

– Seventy-three per cent of Tottenham’s goals in the Premier League have come in the second half (27/37), the highest such proportion in a single campaign since Portsmouth and Stoke both recorded 74 per cent in 2008-09 (both 28/38).

– Crystal Palace became the sixth different side Harry Kane has scored at least 10 Premier League goals against following his brace. Only Alan Shearer (12) and Wayne Rooney (7) have done so against more different opponents in the competition’s history.

– Son Heung-min became the fourth different Tottenham player to score on their 200th Premier League start for the club after Teddy Sheringham, Aaron Lennon and Harry Kane.

What’s next?

Both teams are in FA Cup action on Saturday. Tottenham host Portsmouth while Palace welcome Southampton to Selhurst Park.