London: Harry Kane extended his hot streak with a blistering brace as Tottenham beat Everton 3-2 to close the gap on leaders Chelsea to seven points on Sunday.
Kane opened the scoring with a thunderous first-half strike at White Hart Lane and netted again after the break to take his goal tally to 24 in 28 games this season.
Everton forward Romelu Lukaku, Kane’s closest rival in the race to finish as Premier League top scorer, got one back before Dele Alli struck for Spurs in the closing moments.
There was still time for Enner Valencia to score Everton’s second, but Tottenham held on for a third victory in their last four league games.
Kane’s prolific form puts a little more pressure on runaway leaders Chelsea, who must win at West Ham on Monday to restore their 10-point advantage.
Everton could have no complaints about their first defeat in their last 10 league games, a setback which dents their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.
Tottenham had an early penalty appeal when Kyle Walker surged past Leighton Baines into the area, but the Everton defender recovered impressively, just getting a foot on the ball with his last-ditch challenge.
Although Spurs were monopolising possession, all the neat passing from Mauricio Pochettino’s men hadn’t forced Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles into action.
Sensing that his team needed to be more direct, Kane took matters into his own hands to break the deadlock in the 20th minute.
Liverpool punish Wenger gamble
Liverpool punished Arsene Wenger’s selection gamble with a crucial 3-1 win over spluttering Arsenal on Saturday.
Wenger sprang a major surprise by leaving Alexis Sanchez on the bench and the Chile forward was badly missed as Arsenal were blown away in the first half at Anfield.
With Mesut Ozil also absent, due to illness, Arsenal were ill-equipped to match Jurgen Klopp’s fired-up side, who took the lead in the ninth minute through Roberto Firmino.
There was worse to come for Wenger in the 40th minute as Firmino teed up the unmarked Mane and the Senegal winger drilled his shot past Petr Cech.
Wenger sent on Sanchez at half-time and inevitably he made an impact, sending an astute pass through to Danny Welbeck, whose deft chip reduced the deficit in the 57th minute.
But Georginio Wijnaldum finished a lethal Liverpool counter attack in the 90th minute to condemn Arsenal to a third loss in their last four league matches.
Elsewhere, champions Leicester continued their smooth adaptation to life after Claudio Ranieri by winning 3-1 at home to Hull to pull five points clear of the relegation zone.
