Tottenham Hotspur defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 in Nottingham on Saturday to maintain their hot start to the Premier League season. Harry Kane missed a penalty, but he still scored twice to exceed 200 league goals in his career.
Before Spurs’ prolific scorer stunned the fans with a low fifth-minute shot from inside the penalty area, Forest, who have added 17 players for approximately £150 million since promotion, made the early running.
Kane scored his 200th league goal with a scuffed effort, after an outstanding run and ball by Dejan Kulusevski.
However, things would turn around in the second half as Richarlison’s exquisite outside-of-the-boot cross set up Kane for a close-range header. In addition to nine in the Championship and five in League One, it was his 187th goal in the Premier League.
In the interim, Kane surprisingly missed a penalty after Steve Cook of Forest handled the ball on the line. Dean Henderson spectacularly blocked Kane’s shot at full stretch to atone for his inability to stop the first-half goal.
Spurs are now third in the league with 10 points, two points behind their rivals from north London, Arsenal, who have enjoyed a perfect start after winning their first three games.
Kane recognized the prolonged pressure Forest applied to them and said Spurs still had a lot of opportunity to grow.
“Although we feel fit and had a wonderful preseason, we haven’t exactly shown it. As the game continues, we continue to win games and become stronger “explained he.
“We still manage to win games despite not performing at our best since the season is still young. We have an extremely good team and a wonderful management. We’re doing well right now.”
Forest will take confidence from having a ton of possession and opportunities after being shouted on at the City Ground, which waited 23 years for top-flight football to return this year. Morgan Gibbs-attempt White’s was barely wide, and Lewis O’Brien needed a superb stop.
However, given that Spurs are experts at counterattacks, both Kane and strike partner Son Heung-min may have scored more goals.
Although Spurs manager Antonio Conte yelled at his players nonstop during the game, he had few complaints about how they handled Nottingham Forest’s ferocity amid a boisterous crowd on a hot July day beside the River Trent.
Along with the attention-grabbing Kane, Conte will also be pleased with the performance of midfielder Kulusevski, who has given 10 assists since making his league debut in February, the most of any player in that time period.
“It was quite engrossing. The area surrounding the field was really noisy, “said Conte. “I am aware that it must be difficult for the players, the opponents, to play here with the audience against you. We went through the proper pain. We succeeded in the end.”
Forest ended up in 13th place with four points.