Kane inspires Spurs victory as Crystal Palace falter in north London
Spurs headed into this fixture against the Eagles on the back of four consecutive PL games without victory, conceding an alarming 15 goals in the process, as interim boss Ryan Mason sought to keep his side in the hunt for European football next season.
Once the national anthem was belted out to honour King Charles III’s coronation, the match got underway, with Richarlison testing Sam Johnstone early on before the offside flag was raised.
As the first half progressed, both London-based outfits traded possession, but neither side was able to find the all-important breakthrough, although Spurs defender Cristian Romero saw his header crash against the woodwork following a corner.
The two teams continued to ask questions of the opposition goalkeeper, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg firing a close-range effort over after a neat one-two with Harry Kane before Fraser Forster comfortably denied Michael Olise’s half-volley from the edge of the area.
Kane, though, eventually broke the deadlock on the stroke of HT, nodding in his 209th PL strike - overtaking Wayne Rooney as the league’s second all-time top goalscorer - after getting on the end of Pedro Porro’s dangerous ball into the box.
Spurs were a little sloppy after emerging from the tunnel following the interval, allowing Roy Hodgson’s side to build some momentum, but Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze failed to find the target with their respective attempts.
As Tottenham grew back into the game, Sam Johnstone superbly tipped Porro’s deflected strike out for a corner shortly after the hour mark before the Spanish international flashed a free-kick wide of the target minutes later.
Johnstone was on hand once again shortly after to thwart Heung-min Son when the South Korean forward attempted to go around him inside the area.
Spurs had already done enough, though, to hold on to their eighth successive H2H PL home victory, a run which stretches back to 2015.
Meanwhile, Roy Hodgson’s team, who have already extended their PL stay for at least another campaign, tasted defeat for just the second time in their last seven league outings.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
