London [UK], March 8 (ANI): Harry Kane and Gareth Bale scored two goals each to register a fourth straight win as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Crystal Palace 4-1 on Sunday (local time).
Bale put Tottenham in front before the visitors equalised through Christian Benteke on the stroke of half-time, but Spurs quickly opened up a 3-1 lead early in the second period through Bale and Kane. Kane also assisted both of Bale’s goals.
Spurs were on the front foot right from the start and deservedly went ahead in the 25th minute. Lucas Moura did superbly well to win the ball from Luka Milivojevic 30 yards from the Palace goal and find Kane down the left who rolled the ball across the six-yard box for Bale to tap home at the far post.
It was a commanding first-half display although the Eagles had a spell of pressure late in the half and looked to have seen out the danger only for the visitors to score with 10 seconds of the period remaining when Benteke powered a header past Hugo Lloris. It was their first attempt on target and only the second touch in the box during the first period.
Tottenham made a great start to the second half with two goals inside the opening seven minutes. Bale put the side back in front on 49 minutes, beating Cheikhou Kouyate in the air to head past Guaita for his sixth goal in six games. And it got even better three minutes later with a fabulous Kane goal, hitting Matt Doherty’s pass with a first-time right-foot curler from 25 yards to the right of the area which dipped over the Palace goalkeeper and into the top corner.
The visitors almost reduced the deficit in the 69th minute when Wilfried Zaha struck the post with a low 20-yard drive but the home side wrapped up the points six minutes later when Heung-Min Son squared for Kane to nod into an empty net.
It was a significant goal as it marked the 14th time the two players have combined for a Premier League goal this campaign, a new record for a single season in the competition.
Tottenham sits at sixth place with 45 points and will next take on Arsenal in the Premier League on March 14. (ANI)