The Tottenham support chanted that they were going home and there is excitement among their number at the prospect of returning to the rebuilt White Hart Lane next season. Yet what a send-off they gave to Wembley.
Mauricio Pochettino hints Spurs future hinges on commitment of transfer funds Read more
The merits of the club’s temporary accommodation at the national stadium have been a talking point throughout a season that has finished with them securing third place in the Premier League and a third consecutive Champions League qualification.
Spurs started badly at Wembley but they grew into the old place and they can look back on a handful of outstanding wins against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal in the league, plus Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
On the other hand the three defeats that Mauricio Pochettino feels have scarred the season were also here – against Juventus in the Champions League, Manchester City in the league and Manchester United in the FA Cup. This victory against a spirited Leicester City will stand the test of time mainly for its wackiness. The entertainment value, however, was rich.
On an afternoon when defending was clearly not a part of either team’s plans, Tottenham trailed 3-1 before storming back to lead 4-3 thanks to a pair of Erik Lamela goals and an unwitting assist from him for the other one. Jamie Vardy found the equaliser for Leicester with his second of the game before Harry Kane – who else? – sealed it for Spurs with a second of his own.
Tottenham had invited a host of their former players to the game and one of them, Paul Gascoigne, who was presented on the pitch at half-time, could be seen performing The Floss dance up in the stands when Kane’s winner went in. Around him Gary Mabbutt smiled, Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa applauded and Dimitar Berbatov just looked cool.
Kane finished with 30 league goals for the season but it was not enough to overhaul Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot. Kane had won the award in the previous two seasons with 25 and 29 goals.
Sign up for The Fiver and get our daily football email.
Leicester played a full part in a see‑saw spectacle and they will wonder how they went home with nothing other than a fifth defeat in seven league matches. The focus will now turn to the future of the manager, Claude Puel, but it is fair to say that his players performed for him here. “Speculation is not my area,” Puel said. “We need stability. I will try to make this work. This is just the second time in 18 years we have finished in the first half of the table.”
The game exploded into life at the outset, with Vardy in the mood. He put Leicester in front with a flicked header from Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick but Tottenham hit back when Danny Simpson’s loose pass hit Lucas Moura and Kane was away. He beat Eldin Jakupovic with a low shot inside the near post.
Arsène Wenger gets a winning farewell with 1-0 to the Arsenal at Huddersfield Read more
Tottenham had lost Jan Vertonghen to a calf problem in the warm-up and so Pochettino reshuffled, bringing Victor Wanyama into the line-up in midfield and dropping Eric Dier back to central defence, where he partnered Toby Alderweireld. Kyle Walker‑Peters enjoyed a rare opportunity at right‑back and he suffered, at times, defensively yet he looked good going forward. It was pretty much the story of every player’s day.
Leicester were back in charge with 16 minutes on the clock and the goal owed much to an incision from Kelechi Iheanacho. Walker-Peters and Vardy challenged for a loose ball and, when it broke for Mahrez, he banged past Hugo Lloris. Leicester ought to have been further in front on 26 minutes but Demarai Gray could not beat Lloris when one-on-one, after Vardy’s lovely touch. Spurs were booed off by some of their supporters at the interval.
It was even crazier in the second half, with Iheanacho making it 3-1 with the goal of the game – a precision left-footed drive into the top corner, after holding off Wanyama, which is no mean feat. Game over? Not at all. Spurs were in front 13 minutes later.
Lamela scored his team’s second and fourth goals from low Walker‑Peters crosses while the equaliser for 3-3 came when Harry Maguire jumped into a challenge on him. The ball ricocheted off Lamela and went in off Christian Fuchs for an own goal.
Back came Leicester and after Lloris had saved brilliantly to keep out Iheanacho, Mahrez ushered in Vardy, who finished explosively into the near top corner. Kane created the winner for himself with a move that sent the Leicester substitute, Hamza Choudhury off towards Brent Cross. He bent his shot expertly into the far corner. Though Vardy fired high when well placed in stoppage-time, there would be no further twists.
VIVA – Hujan gol terjadi di Wembley di partai pamungkas Premier League, Minggu 13 Mei 2018. Tottenham Hotspur menundukkan tamunya, Leicester City 5-4. Leicester berhasil unggul saat laga baru berjalan 4 menit. Jamie Vardy sukses menuntaskan sodoran Riyad Mahrez. Tiga menit berselang, Spurs mampu menyamakan kedudukan. Harry Kane mencatatkan namanya di papan skor.
The Foxes kembali unggul di menit 16 lewat gol Riyad Mahrez. Tim tamu semakin di atas angin berkat gol Kelechi Iheanacho di menit 47. Spurs tak mau menyerah. Mereka berhasil comeback dengan menciptakan toga gol tambahan. Dimulai dengan gol Erik Lamela di menit 49. Setelah itu, Christian Fuchs mencetak gol bunuh diri di menit 53, yang membuat tuan rumah menyamakan kedudukan. The Lilywhites berbalik unggul di menit 60. Erik Lamela mencetak gol keduanya sekaligus membawa Spurs unggul 4-3. Pertandingan belum berhenti di situ. Jamie Vardy membuat Leicester menyamakan kedudukan lewat golnya di menit 73. Gol kemenangan Spurs akhirna hadir di menit 76. Kane mencetak gol keduanya di laga ini, memanfaatkan sodoran Danny Rose. Skor 5-4 bertahan hingga akhir laga. Hasil ini membuat Spurs finis di posisi 3 dengan 77 poin dari 38 pertandingan. Susunan Pemain
Tottenham Hotspur: Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker-Peters, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Lucas Moura, Harry Kane. Leicester City: Eldin Jakupovic, Christian Fuchs, Harry Maguire, Wes Morgan, Danny Simpson, Demarai Gray, Vicente Iborra, Adrien Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho.
Pochettino's Spurs finished as the top London club in the Premier League for the first time since 1995
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to discuss his future with chairman Daniel Levy, and says the club must "take risks" to improve.
Spurs beat Leicester 5-4 on Sunday to secure a third successive top-three finish in the Premier League.
But the club have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2008, and have spent less than their top-six rivals.
"If we want to be real contenders for big, big trophies, we need to review a little," Pochettino said.
"First of all, I need to speak with Daniel, then we will know what we are going to do.
"I think it's a moment the club needs to take risks and if possible work harder than the previous season to be competitive again."
Argentine Pochettino, 46, took over at Spurs in 2014 and has led the club to fifth, third, second and third-placed finishes in his four seasons.
But they have spent £184.59m on players in the past two seasons, less than Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool over the same period.
Media playback is not supported on this device Pochettino 'relieved' after 'exciting' 5-4 win
Pochettino has been linked with a move from the club and following their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United in April said the club "need more time with me or another".
This season they were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Juventus.
"I think I have a very clear idea what we need to do; I don't know if the club will be agreeing with me or not," Pochettino said.
"But we are going to talk, next week, to create the new project, or what I think what we need to do, together again, to try to improve.
"That is a little bit up to Daniel of course, to the club, to be happy with us, because after four years I think we need to assess that period.
"I think Daniel is going to listen to me. But you know me and sometimes I have some crazy ideas.
"In this type of situation, with a club with our unbelievable fans, being brave is the most important, and to take risks."
