Leicester City were beaten 4-2 by Tottenham at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, ending the Foxes’ pursuit of a top-four finish and Champions League qualification in truly miserable fashion for the second straight season.
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On the other side, Harry Kane scored for Tottenham to take his tally to 23 goals on the season, one more than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, and claim his third Premier League Golden Boot ahead of his summer of uncertainty. Gareth Bale came off the bench to score the winner as well as a late insurance goal.
3 things we learned: Leicester - Tottenham
1. Groundhog Day for Leicester: A year ago, Leicester sat 3rd in the Premier League table with five games left to play; the Foxes finished 5th and missed out on Champions League qualification. This season, Leicester sat 3rd in the Premier League table with two games left to play; the Foxes again 5th and missed out on Champions League qualification.
2. Kane comes through for Tottenham (again): … but for that last time? Obviously the summer’s top transfer saga is still to play out over the coming months, and Sunday might have well been Kane’s final game for Tottenham, so naturally he scored yet another sensational goal amid yet another lifeless performance from the side in white.
3. Bale bids farewell with one last goal for Spurs: Speaking of club legends leaving Tottenham this summer, Bale is perhaps headed back to Madrid after completing his season-long loan. He, too, marked the occasion with a pair of farewell goals — the ones that killed Leicester’s hope of a top-four finish with finality.
Vardy got the vital goal early on from the penalty spot after winning the penalty himself. Toby Aldeweireld clipped the Foxes’ star striker as he weaved past the Belgian defender, though the penalty wasn’t initially given. Video review revealed clear contact and a foul, and Vardy tucked the spot kick away with Hugo Lloris going the wrong way.
Leicester were far and away the dominant side in the first half, but Kane pulled Tottenham level in a rare and brief moment of quality from the visitors. Matt Doherty’s shot was headed high into the air, as was Son Heung-min’s cross attempting to re-circulate the ball in the box, but Kane tracked it instinctively to position himself to hammer a right-footed shot past Schmeichel for 1-1.
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It was again Vardy who drew the foul, this time from Davinson Sanchez, to earn Leicester’s second penalty. It was again Vardy who stepped to the spot and converted to Lloris’ left.
The top-four race swung wildly out of Leicester’s favor in the 76th minute, when Schmeichel punched the ball into his own net from a corner kick. Sanchez was the nearest Tottenham player, and the Colombian might have taken a blow to the head in the process as Schmeichel got the punch all wrong.
Bale put the final nail into Leicester’s coffin with 87 minutes on the clock. The ball bounced helplessly atop the penalty area as the Welshman raced onto the scene and smashed a left-footed finish past Schmeichel to make it 3-2.
Bale added the fourth deep into stoppage time as the King Power felt completely silent.