Harry Kane starred as Tottenham Hotspur crushed Chelsea 5-3 in a New Year’s Day blockbuster to leave Jose Mourinho’s side dead-level with Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
Kane, a 21-year-old Spurs youth-team graduate, scored twice and had a hand in two other goals as Mourinho conceded five goals for only the second time in his managerial career.
It left Chelsea and City with completely identical records, after former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard had scored the decisive goal in the champions’ 3-2 win over Sunderland.
“It shows how good we are,” said Kane, whose side leapfrogged Arsenal into fifth place. “To score five against one of the best defences in the world shows how we’re coming together as a team.”
Diego Costa put Chelsea ahead in the 18th minute at White Hart Lane by tapping in Oscar’s shot after Eden Hazard had hit the post, but Kane drilled in from the edge of the box on the half hour.
Danny Rose put Spurs ahead in the 44th minute and Andros Townsend extended the hosts’ lead from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after Kane had been felled by Gary Cahill.
Nacer Chadli teed up Kane to make it 4-1 early in the second half and Kane returned the favour after Hazard had reduced the arrears, with Chelsea captain John Terry netting a further consolation in the 87th minute.
“I think we made some defensive mistakes, some individual defensive mistakes,” Mourinho told BT Sport.
“The players tried a lot, but the fifth goal killed a bit our fantastic reaction.”
– Lampard rescues City –
Earlier, Lampard had celebrated the extension of his loan move from City’s sister club New York City FC by coming off the bench to score the winner against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium.
City, who left goalkeeper Joe Hart on the bench, went 2-0 up through a sensational 22-yard shot from Yaya Toure and a neat finish by Stevan Jovetic.
But just as they had done in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, City allowed Sunderland back into the game, with City old boys Jack Rodwell and Adam Johnson, with a penalty, drawing the visitors level.
However, just three minutes after replacing Jovetic, Lampard headed home a cross from Gael Clichy to claim his seventh goal of the campaign.
“I think Frank Lampard is a very important player, particularly in these cases when you need a goal,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“But we played a very good 90 minutes, we moved the ball well and the only mistake was to give away a second goal from a penalty.”
Third-place Manchester United lost further momentum after drawing 1-1 with Stoke City at a windy Britannia Stadium, where Radamel Falcao cancelled out Ryan Shawcross’s second-minute opener.
“We didn’t deserve any more than a draw,” said United manager Louis van Gaal, whose side have drawn three of their last four games. “They were closer to a winning goal than us. We should have played better today.”
Southampton tightened their grip on fourth place and closed to within a point of United by winning 2-0 at home to Arsenal, who fell three points off theChampions League places as a result.
Sadio Mane curled home from a narrow angle on the right after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny went walkabout in the 34th minute, with Dusan Tadic adding a second in the 56th minute after a defensive mix-up.
– Pardew watches Palace –
“We have a good team and can beat the big ones if we show the spirit we did today,” said Southampton manager Ronald Koeman. “Everything is possible.”
Freshly appointed West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis watched from the stands as his new club drew 1-1 at West Ham United, with Saido Berahino cancelling out Diafra Sakho’s neatly constructed 10th-minute opener.
The result kept West Brom a point above the relegation zone.
Second-bottom Burnley showed extraordinary spirit to come from behind three times and force a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United, whose manager, Alan Pardew, is on the verge of joining Crystal Palace.
Steven Taylor, Jack Colback and Moussa Sissoko scored for Newcastle, but Burnley, who lost three players to injury in the first half, hit back each time through a Paul Dummett own goal and goals from Danny Ings and George Boyd.
Pardew was in the stands to watch Palace draw 0-0 at Aston Villa, ahead of his expected appointment as the successor to the sacked Neil Warnock.
Liverpool’s recent momentum was curbed as they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to bottom club Leicester City, which left them seven points below the top four in eighth place.
A pair of first-half Steven Gerrard penalties put Liverpool in control, but two goals in two minutes by David Nugent and Jeffrey Schlupp prevented Brendan Rodgers’s side from registering a third successive win.
Substitute Wilfried Bony earned Swansea City a 1-1 draw at Queens Park Rangers, cancelling out Leroy Fer’s 20th-minute thunderbolt with a cool stoppage-time strike.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic scored unanswered goals as Hull City condemned Everton to a fourth straight loss. – Agence France-Presse
