Harry Kane broke Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring record with a goal – his 267th for the club – which will have been celebrated almost as jubilantly by the other north London side.
The England captain’s landmark goal earned Tottenham a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, who were keen to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to two points.
In the end, Arsenal were not punished for the 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday – and perhaps that’s no surprise. After all, City have failed to win or score a single goal in five games at Tottenham’s new stadium.
Even the absence of Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who is recovering in his native Italy after having his gallbladder removed this week, couldn’t change the narrative surrounding this particular game.
Kane swept home the winner in the 15th minute after Pierre-Emile Højbjerg intercepted a pass from City midfielder Rodri from behind, setting up the striker to score his 200th Premier League goal. Only two other players — Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208) — have equaled that number.
Kane broke the tie for all-time Tottenham goals he had with the late Jimmy Greaves, who played for the club from 1961–70.
“Just a magic moment,” said Kane in an on-pitch interview, gazing at the celebrating Tottenham fans, “and I was dying to do it with a win. I’ll never forget it.
“There has been so much talk about this in the past few weeks. I just wanted to get it done as soon as possible. And to do it in a big game against one of the best teams in the world is a special feeling.”
City have been the architect of their own downfall for goal, just as they did when they conceded two sloppy first-half goals against Tottenham last month before rallying for a 4-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.
There was no comeback this time, despite a second-half resurgence sparked by the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne, who was benched for the second game in a row against Tottenham, and Cristian Romero’s 87th-minute dismissal because of a second yellow card.
City lost for the fourth time this season in the league, staying five points behind Arsenal, who have a game in hand as they have been vying for a first top-flight title since 2004.
“There’s still a lot of football to play,” said City defender Kyle Walker. “I know the twists and turns (in the title race), I know what this team is about.”
Fifth-placed Tottenham moved a point behind fourth-placed Newcastle in the race for Champions League qualification.
NAVAS DEBUT
Keylor Navas swapped a Champions League contender for a Premier League contender. He immediately looked home.
The Costa Rica keeper made a number of great saves on his debut for Forest in the 1-0 win against Leeds This put the team six points ahead of the relegation zone.
“Excellent and composed,” said forest manager Steve Cooper of the three-time Champions League winners with Real Madrid, who joined from Paris Saint-Germain this week. Credit for that, but I loved his composure and game management and decision making.”
Brennan Johnson scored the winning goal in the 14th minute for Forest, who have won three of their last four league games and moved up to 13th place.
Leeds sit 17th in the 20-team league, just shy of the relegation zones on goal difference.
American influence
USA midfielder Weston McKennie made his debut for Leeds as a second-half substitute, playing alongside national team-mate Tyler Adams.
With Brenden Aaronson in the squad, Leeds became the first team to play three US internationals in the same season in the Premier League since 2012/13 when Stoke had Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Maurice Edu.
Leeds manager Jesse Marsch is another American at the club and knows he is under pressure ahead of a game at Manchester United on Wednesday, Leeds’ game.
“I have to find a way to turn good performances into victories, because that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for a while,” said Marsch.
“I understand the frustration and the doubts. Internally we believe here. This is what we do.”
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Steve Douglas can be reached at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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