Tottenham moved six points clear inside the top four after winning 3-1 against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon. Harry Kane was the star of the show once again as he scored twice to help Spurs secure all three points.
Richarlison thought he had opened the scoring for the Lilywhites with his first Premier League goal. The Brazilian was quick to celebrate by putting his finger to his lips, an action that may have been directed at Spurs boss Antonio Conte after the Italian hit back at Richarilson's comments earlier in the week.
VAR intervened and ruled out the Brazil international's strike for offside, however, before Kane grabbed two goals in the first half. Son Heung-min added a third in the second period before Joe Worrall grabbed a late consolation goal, with Fraser Forster saving a penalty with just minutes to play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
READ MORE: The sign that Antonio Conte has the fire burning again inside him despite Tottenham future talk
football.london takes a look at how the national media reacted as Spurs bounced back from their Champions League exit with a win against Steve Cooper's side in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte has hit back at Tottenham forward Richarlison after the Brazil international ‘shushed’ him after scoring in Saturday’s Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest.
The former Everton forward had appeared to open the scoring in the third minute, with his celebration appearing to silence the Italian boss. The goal was ruled out by VAR for an offside, although Spurs ran out 3-1 victors as Harry Kane netted a brace and Heung-Min Son was on the scoresheet.
It came after Conte responded to Richarlison’s explosive television interview, calling the forward’s demands for more game-time "selfish". However, the boss did – perhaps somewhat surprisingly – start the forward for Saturday’s clash at home to Forest.
However, when the forward found the back of the net, his mind appeared to be focused on responding to his manager.
At least Tottenham can always count on Harry Kane. Two goals from the England captain – including his first penalty since missing from the spot in the World Cup quarter-final against France – and another from Son Heung-min ended a dismal week for Antonio Conte with a comprehensive victory over Nottingham Forest, despite a late consolation from Joe Worrall.
The Spurs manager had made his thoughts clear after the abject performance in the Champions League against Milan that ended any hopes of silverware for a 15th successive season, accusing supporters of lacking patience.
But while questions remain over the future of Conte and Kane beyond the end of this season, the Tottenham captain and an inspired performance from the £50m record signing Richarlison after his own midweek tantrum, ensured that they went home with smiles on their faces this time, having substantially strengthened his side’s grip on fourth place.
Kane admitted in January that he will always be haunted by his miss against France in Qatar yet the result was never in doubt from the moment he fired past Keylor Navas in the 35th minute. He had already opened the scoring with a deft header by then and the successful penalty means Kane has now surpassed 20 Premier League goals in a single campaign for the sixth time. Not bad for a one-season wonder.
Forest have now shipped nine goals in their last three visits to the capital but showed real determination even after going three goals down early in the second half. Despite pulling one back through Worrall and having a penalty from substitute Andre Ayew saved by Fraser Forster in stoppage time, they now find themselves looking nervously over their shoulders again with only a three-point cushion between them and the bottom three.
Out of the cup competitions and back in the groove. Tottenham performed as if to prove Antonio Conte’s point that the weight of expectation simply suffocates his players whenever there is any trace of jeopardy in the air.
As soon as it was gone, they all relaxed and performed, and Harry Kane led the crusade out of the doldrums with two goals in the first half to ease himself past the 20-goal barrier in the Premier League for the sixth time in nine seasons.
The second of them came from the penalty spot, his first since the one missed for England in the World Cup quarter-finals, in Qatar. Normal service resumed on all levels.
Heung-min Son made it 3-0 in the second half before surviving a late flurry by Nottingham Forest, who pulled one back through Joe Worrall and saw a late penalty from Andre Ayew saved by Fraser Forster.
Spurs reinforced their grip on fourth place as Liverpool stumbled at Bournemouth, although this did not seem like cause for great celebration.
Rather, much of the game unfolded amid a passive air of indifference. There was no fury aimed at Conte who, on the eve of this game, accused Tottenham fans of stifling their own team with their impatience.
Hope and ambition had been punctured by the previous three fixtures, in which no goals and two cup exits served to extend the wait for a trophy to at least one more year.
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