If the summer had gone the way Manchester City had planned, Harry Kane would have dressed in blue on Saturday. Instead, he scored Tottenham's final two goals, including a stoppage-time winner, which swept the Premier League title race wide-eyed in a 3–2 loss to City.
Pep Guardiola's Man City are the defending champions and have looked like a sure bet to repeat in recent months. But Liverpool are now just six points away, with a game in hand, and a direct fixture against Man City for 9 April. With 12 matches remaining in the season (13 for Liverpool), the race for the league title is still in limbo and Kane is a big reason.
With tensions rising over the three-match losing skid and some controversial comments from manager Antonio Conte, no one expected Spurs to be able to take three separate leads and snatch all three points at the Etihad. And against a Man City side that had scored just six goals in 12 games at home, no one expected Kane - with a single goal in his last five league appearances - to score twice.
In fact, Kane has looked nothing like the players Man City were chasing during the summer of 2021, with multiple bids being filed and rejected. Since the move fell through, and with a managerial change in the middle of the season, both Kane and Spurs have struggled to find themselves again.
But this Premier League Saturday, it was a past performance from Spurs and Kane, crucial to the visitors' ability to hurt Man City during the transition and give them only their third loss of the campaign (and second of the season to Spurs). was to be handed over. ,
Kane leads Spurs to unexpected victory
It was a remarkable win for Tottenham, playing in worrying form. Conte's gameplan was simple but effective: When Man City had the ball, his team sat in a 5-4-1 formation. Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusewski would sometimes join forward Kane, but his main focus was to circle the center of the pitch and force Man City to play wide.
By doing so, Spurs stopped the hosts from creating good chances. Man City had to push more players and take more risks, making themselves counter-vulnerable. And Kane was the outlet for the Spurs to counterattack. He would descend into midfield to receive the ball, shield it, and pass either Son or Kulusevsky through City's exposed defense for the next pass.
The first goal was a textbook example of this. Kane's momentum toward the ball pulled Man City defender Aymeric Laporte along, and left other City defender Ruben Dias in no-man's land, creating an easy goal for Kulusevski. After that it was rinse and repeat for Spurs: Kane was deep dropping, playing teammate and leading to a spot.
But Kane also reappears at the box to end the plays. His goals were a reminder of how dangerous he was at attacking the penalty area. When Spurs took hold, Kane did a great job putting himself in goal position. Their long-standing chemistry with Son was evident on the second goal, with the Korean knowing where to drop the ball for his teammate and then on a second attempt denied by Ederson.
The Ken-Kulusevsky partnership also looked promising. The Swede bit his left foot twice and found the center forward on the far post, with Kane hitting the back of the net. The first goal was denied for offside, and the second was a game-winner.
Kane provided a target in the field and Son and Kulusewski had the skill and foresight to find it.
How many goals has Kane scored?
Kane needed the kind of game this season, with his normally prolific front man struggling in front of goals.
The England striker scored just five league goals to his name. He had made a habit of exceeding his expected goals (xG) during his career, sometimes at unstable levels, proving just how strong a finisher he is.
Taking away penalties, he scored 4.6 goals more than his expected goals in the 2017-18 season, 1.8 goals more in the 18-19 season, 7 goals more in the 19-20 season and 1.5 goals in the 20. -21 season.
But entering the City match, Kane was running his XG in 2021–22 with only four non-penalty goals, well below the expected nine non-penalty goals.
He's taking shots from distance to goal as before in his career, and he's getting the same number of shots on target per game. However, while in previous years he scored once every five or six shots, this season he has scored once every 17 shots. It's been that kind of weather for him.
Spurs manager Antonio Conte will be hoping the brace at the Etihad will open up Kane's return to his best in front of a goal. This Tottenham team will need it to score a run in the top four.
How Kane Almost Joined Man City
The malaise of 2021-22 may be partly due to last summer's transfer saga.
It was an open secret that Manchester City had a keen interest in the England captain, with Tottenham reportedly turning down multiple bids for the forward.
And Kane himself gave a rare comprehensive interview with Gary Neville, where he outlined why he was interested in moving away from the club with which he had become synonymous during eight trophy-less seasons.
Kane, 28, claimed he had a gentleman's deal with Tottenham executive Daniel Levy that allowed him to go to collect trophies. And while Manchester City waited too long to raise their offer to $200 million, Spurs declined because they didn't have time to replace him. This made for a total of four formal offers and an unhappy Kane turned down by the North London club.
It was a dramatic summer, with Kane not joining Spurs for preseason training until near the start of the season. This led to him being ruled out of the first two matches, including a 1–0 win over Manchester City at the start of the season. That day "Are you seeing Harry Kane?" It rained from Spurs supporters, who were sending a clear message to their unwanted star.
Can Kane still join Man City in the summer?
Of course, it's not out of the question that Kane may still end up wearing the Man City Sky Blue. He turns 29 in the summer, but he has a few high quality years left.
That doesn't mean Man City will be knocked down with another $200 million transfer offer, especially after the $20 million signing of young River Plate star Julian Alvarez, who is expected to formally join the team this coming summer. Is.
And the question will also be asked: Do Man City still need Kane? They regularly play without a traditional center forward, with numerous attacking players acting as an additional attacking midfielder instead of a traditional target number 9. Phil Foden has filled the role to good effect in recent weeks, and that remains to be seen. Will manager Pep Guardiola advance to a traditional hitman if this system continues to work for his side.
Kane's current Tottenham contract runs through the summer of 2024, at the end of which he will turn 31. If Spurs can succeed in qualifying for the Champions League and perhaps even win the FA Cup this season, he may reconsider whether they need to be fulfilled. his trophy ambitions elsewhere. But what was said in the summer of 2021 cannot be untold.
His candid admission during Neville interviews is likely to re-emerge when transfer season returns. But a strong three months to close out the season and a clear path under Conte could still see the narrative flip. It will win and perform more like against Man City.