Published: 27 December, 2015
By DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 3, NORWICH CITY 0

SPURS cemented their top-four credentials on Boxing Day with a solid victory against Norwich at White Hart Lane – and coach Mauricio Pochettino praised his players for setting a high standard in a match they won at a canter.

“I hope this has made it a happy Christmas for the supporters who love Tottenham the same as me,” he said after the game that saw Harry Kane strike twice and sub Tom Carroll also score.

But he said his young side were not getting carried away with Champions League dreams.

“It was fantastic today, we are fourth in the table, but it means nothing right now. However, this is the type of result that brings confidence and we are pleased about the players’ reaction after losing to Newcastle. The two wins since shows it was an accident. We are a young team, but we are showing consistency and maturity.”

And he said his Argentine forward Erik Lamela, who had a slow start to his Spurs career after a £30m move from Italy two years ago, was now showing his true ability.

“Football is different from 15 years ago,” he added.

“It is not just about your talent, it is about working hard to apply it. Erik knows he has to work hard for his team. All the players do. They believe in our methods and everyone is pulling in the same direction.”

After a few early scares Spurs settled, with Dele Alli increasingly taking hold of proceedings. On 22, he raced into space and was spotted by Christian Eriksen's fine through-ball. His stinging shot was well blocked by Declan Rudd in the City goal, and Kane couldn't get his body shape right to turn home the rebound.

Three minutes later, Eriksen and Lamela worked a neat one -two and Alli was on hand to jink a ball in for Kane. Rudd raced out to deal with the danger – and instead pulled the striker down. The 22-year-old buried the resulting penalty to chalk up his 27^th goal of 2015.

More was to come. With their noses in front, Spurs sensed blood. Rudd pulled off a brilliant double save from headers by Toby Alderweireld and Alli once more, before watching Kane power a header wide with the goal at his mercy.

It was all Spurs. The second came when Eriksen and Alli once again broke, fed Kane and the centre-forward fired home from an angle on 40.

If City had hoped to find a second-half toehold, they instead fought to keep the deficit decent. Rudd was forced to race out and block an Alli shot and then saw a Lamela side-footer scooped off the line. As a sign of the Tottenham players' confidence, Rudd's next save was an athletic leap on 55 as he pushed away an edge of the box "rabona" from Lamela.

But despite the City keeper's heroics, another goal was all the home side deserved. Spurs broke down the right, Carroll latched on to Eriksen's pass and guided with a gunslinger's accuracy a pacy shot into the bottom left corner.

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

THIS has been an incredible season for Dele Alli. Against Norwich he was full of energy, tricks, bravery, determination and vision. What a complete package he brings to the side.

Erik Lamela was told publically by Pochettino in the summer that this was a make-or-break season for him. Plagued by injury that wrote off his first year, often asked to operate in an unorthodox spot when fit, he looked too weak for the rigours of the Premiership and was considered, at £30m, to be the worst purchase from the Bale windfall.

But how he has reacted to Poch's call to arms. The Argentine married a box of tricks with steely determination, fought ferociously off the ball and then looked so composed when he had it at his feet. He played a part in the goals, and nearly scored another long-range rabona. Who would have thought it could come so good for him?

SPURS: Lloris, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Walker, Davies, Dier, Dembele (Chadli, 85), Alli (Son, 80), Kane, Eriksen (Carroll, 71), Lamela.
Subs: Vorm, Rose, Bentaleb, Son, Trippier, Chadli, Carroll.