Last summer, Harry Kane was seen by many as the man to make sure Manchester City would retain their Premier League crown. Six months on, though, he may have just blown the title race wide open.
The Tottenham striker did it in style too, with a scintillating solo performance on Saturday night to sink the side who tried so hard to sign him at the start of the season.
Kane would probably have been performing rather more regularly at Etihad Stadium since September had Spurs chairman Daniel Levy not been such an unwilling negotiator when City came to the table.
When he finally made it to the Etihad this weekend, he put on a masterclass that showed exactly why City boss Pep Guardiola had made him his top centre-forward target to replace Sergio Aguero – and why Levy refused to budge on his £150m asking price.
“That’s one of the best all-round centre-forward performances I’ve seen all season, anywhere” is how Alan Shearer described Kane’s display on Match of the Day.
The former England captain added: “Intelligence, aggression, goals, assists, he was just far, far too good for City’s centre-halves Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias – and it is not very often we say that. He was just too clever for them.”
Whatever was asked of Kane against the defending champions and league leaders, the current England captain delivered – from his exceptional link-up play to his ruthlessness in front of goal.
Kane managed both for his first goal, starting and finishing the move that saw Spurs go 2-1 up.
It took a brilliant Ederson save and a VAR offside decision to stop him extending his side’s advantage in normal time but, after City looked like they had rescued a point with a last-gasp Riyad Mahrez penalty, it seemed fitting that Kane would have the final word.
He did exactly that with a winner deep in stoppage time, which provided an enthralling game with an incredible ending.
Kane was able to continue his celebrations after the game with the travelling Tottenham fans, who sang “Harry Kane, he’s one of our own” at the final whistle.
(BBC Sport)
