Kane leads Spurs to 5-0 rout of Everton, leapfrogs Henry

Sports Desk, Mar 7 (EFE).- Tottenham grabbed an early lead with a pair of goals before the 20-minute mark of the first half and never looked back in a 5-0 shellacking Monday night of Everton, who are now barely clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone after suffering their third straight loss.

The Spurs thrilled the huge home crowd of nearly 60,000 fans who enjoyed a stress-free romp that began with the Toffees’ Michael Keane scoring an own goal in the 14th minute while trying to disrupt a pass into the area by Ryan Sessegnon.

Three minutes later, South Korean forward Son Heung-min received a pass in stride from Dejan Kulusevski and fired a shot that went through the hands of Everton goalie Jordan Pickford and into the back of the net.

Harry Kane then got in on the act in the 37th minute when he received a perfect through pass from Matt Doherty and then finished past Pickford to send the fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into even more of a frenzy.

Any thought of a potential second-half comeback was squashed less than a minute after the break when Sergio Reguilon scored off a low pass from Kulusevski.

Kane then added insult to injury with a left-footed volley in minute 55 that made the score 5-0 and gave him 176 Premier League goals, sixth-most all-time and one more than Arsenal all-time great Thierry Henry.

Afterward, Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte was pleased but cautious when asked to assess the current state of his inconsistent club.

“Now is OK, but I want to see Saturday what happens” when the Spurs travel to take on fifth-place Man United at Old Trafford, a game that could prove critical in the race for Champions League qualification.

With the win, the seventh-place Spurs are now just three points behind fourth-place Arsenal (though the Gunners have a game in hand) in what is now a four-team battle for the final 2022-2023 Champions League berth out of the Premier League.

The London club are even on points with West Ham and two points behind Manchester United and have two games in hand on those clubs.

The loss was a humiliating one for Everton head coach Frank Lampard, who has not been able to turn around the Toffees’ fortunes since taking the helm in early February.

The Liverpool club now find themselves in danger of being relegated from England’s top flight for the first time since 1951. EFE

id/mc