Tottenham eased past Leeds United at Elland Road to boost their top four hopes and pile more pressure on Marcelo Bielsa.
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Spurs were 3-0 up after 27 minutes as Matt Doherty, Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane all finished as Antonio Conte’s side were clinical. Heung-min Son added a fourth late on, as
Leeds had plenty of chances of their own but they looked sluggish and low in confidence throughout.
The win moves Tottenham on to 42 points for the season, while Leeds have lost five of their last six games and have 23 points but have played more games than the teams around them at the bottom.
Leeds vs Tottenham final score, stats
Leeds 0-4 Tottenham
Goals scored: Doherty 10' Kulusevski 15' Kane 27', Son 85'
Shots: Leeds 19, Tottenham 15
Shots on target: Leeds 3, Tottenham 11
Possession: Leeds 49, Tottenham 51
Three things we learned from Leeds vs Tottenham
1. Bielsa’s boys can’t defend: In their last five games they’ve concede 21 goals and from the xG stats they should have conceded 13.21. That second number is still bad but it just goes to show you how many defensive errors Leeds are making, even if they have had defensive injuries to deal with. They have let in four against Man United, six at Liverpool and four at home against Tottenham in the space of six days. Bielsa will never change his approach and this past week was demoralizing for everyone connected with Leeds. Their upcoming games against Leicester, Villa, Norwich and Wolves are crucial if they’re going to push themselves away from the relegation battle. The good news is that those teams don’t have attacking talent like United, Liverpool and Spurs. The bad news is that Leeds’ confidence in what they’re doing looks totally gone.
2. Kane, Son set new record: The record-breaking goal summed up their connection perfectly. Kane dropped deep, looked up and sent a long ball right onto Son’s foot as he finished with ease. That set a new record for the most goals from a duo in Premier League history (37) as Kane and Son overtook Drogba and Lampard. This partnership is the most prolific in PL history and we will look back at this duo with delight in decades to come.
3. Conte’s words had an impact: In midweek Antonio Conte looked like he was going to walk away from Tottenham after their defeat at Burnley. His words were harsh and he blamed the players for consistent underachievement. His harsh words worked to motivate Spurs who were clinical and ruthless. Yes, they gave up chances at the back but Leeds couldn’t take them and Tottenham were out of sight inside the first 30 minutes of this game. Let’s see what Conte says next to try and rally Spurs to a top four finish.
Man of the Match: Harry Kane - Scored a beauty, set up Son with a majestic pass and was brilliant throughout as he dropped deeper to get on the ball. Class.
Rampant Spurs punish Leeds
Leeds’ Pascal Struijk flicked a header just wide, but then Tottenham took the lead.
After Tottenham cut through Leeds’ high defensive line, Ryan Sessegnon was played in down the left and his cross found the wingback on the other side, Doherty, who slotted home with ease.
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Spurs then doubled their lead soon after as Kulusevski cut inside and hammered home a low shot. At the other end Robin Koch hit the post as he beat Hugo Lloris with a side-footed effort.
Kane then made it 3-0 with less than 30 minutes on the clock as Hojbjerg clipped in a lovely ball and Spurs’ main man finished brilliantly.
Hosts waste glorious chances
Leeds actually created the better chances after they went 3-0 down, but couldn’t take any of them as Spurs were cruising.
In the second half Son, Doherty and Kulusevski all had good chances to extend Spurs’ lead as Leeds couldn’t sustain any control on the game.
At the other end Hugo Lloris made a terrible mistake as he came off his line but didn’t get the ball, but Stuart Dallas took too long to finish and Ben Davies blocked.
Kane, Son set new record
Dan James also had a great chance but put it wide as Leeds had a bad day at the office from back to front.
Kane then found Son with a superb ball over the top, as the duo broke the record for the most goal combinations between two players in PL history.
There was still time for Raphinha to rattle the post with a free kick, and that summed up Leeds’ day.
