London, February 20 (BUS): Harry Kane’s double gave Tottenham Hotspur a shock 3-2 away win over leaders Manchester City after Liverpool came from behind to beat Norwich City 3-1 on what could be a pivotal day in London. The race for the English Premier League title on Saturday.
City looked to have saved a point when Riyad Mahrez netted an injury-time penalty at Al Ittihad, but Kane capped a fine display to head in a dramatic goal three minutes later.
Earlier, Chelsea’s Liverpool were dismayed when they trailed struggling Norwich midway through the second half at Anfield. But the goals of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz allowed Jurgen Klopp’s team to reduce the difference to six points in the lead, and they also have a game in hand against City.
With 14 wins in the last 15 games and Tottenham in a three-game losing streak, City were expected to regain their nine-point advantage. But Antonio Conte’s team had other ideas and won the league double over the champions.
“Sometimes you have this kind of game and you need to learn from it,” said City captain Ilkay Gundogan. “It’s a wake-up call for us. There is still a long way to go.”
A week after claiming the club’s world champion title, third-placed Chelsea returned to domestic service with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, with Hakim Ziyech scoring a late goal.
And in the race for fourth place, West Ham United stumbled in a 1-1 draw with its guest Newcastle United, a result that prevented the return of fourth-placed Manchester United, who plays against Leeds United on Sunday.
United have 43 points from 25 games, one point behind West Ham and Arsenal, who beat Brentford 2-1. Arsenal have three games on hand compared to West Ham and two over United.
Tottenham are back in seventh place with 39 points and they also have a game in hand against West Ham and United.
It’s been a big day at the bottom too with Burnley crashing out under the table with a 3-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion, and newcomer Wut Wighurst scoring one and setting up another.
Watford scored their first win under new manager Roy Hodgson, as Emmanuel Denis secured a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Norwich is now last on goal difference behind Burnley with 17 points, although Burnley have three games in hand. Watford are in a better position by a point, four ahead of Newcastle, for whom Joe Willock snatched the equalizer at West Ham.
Everton, led by Frank Lampard, lost 2-0 to Southampton and is only four points above the relegation zone.
Kane looked set to move to City in the summer, and how could the Champions have sealed the deal.
It was his pass that cleared Son Heung-min in the fourth minute to roll the ball to Dejan Kulusevsky to put it in the net.
Gundogan took advantage of Hugo Lloris’ confusion to equalize before the end of the first half, but Kane scored a silky goal in the 59th minute from Son’s pass to restore Tottenham’s lead.
It was the 36th time the two players combined a Premier League goal, equaling the record for former Chelsea players Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
Kane canceled another goal for offside, before a handball by Christian Romero in the 90th minute gave Mahrez the opportunity to equalize from a penalty kick.
But Kulusevsky then made the winning goal with a late header from Kane, opening the door for Liverpool in the title race.
With a game in hand and a trip to City in April, Jurgen Klopp’s side are now a serious contender once again after dropping by 12 points in January.
They were forced to work hard by facing Norwich, but in the end they secured their eighth consecutive win in all competitions, with Salah scoring his 150th goal for the club and Diaz his first.
Joel Matip veered Melot Rashica’s shot to give Norwich the lead, but the visitors were unable to stem the red tide as Liverpool increased the pressure on them – and City.