4 things we learned: United’s costly conservative approach, Chelsea and Arsenal’s major slip-ups
By Dan Voicescu
Tottenham stays within striking distance of Manchester duo
Another potential victim of international duty hangover, the Spurs took care of business at their temporary Wembley home against 19th place Bournemouth. It was an unconvincing performance but getting all three points is all that matters.
Perhaps due to the rumors swirling around about an imminent transfer to Real Madrid, perhaps due to the international duty hangover, Harry Kane, the Tottenham’s wonderboy, had an unusually quiet game. But Christian Eriksen was there to pick up the slack and slot home the game’s only goal.
It is games like this one that Tottenham needs to win to keep up the pace, especially on a day when other contenders (Arsenal, Chelsea) looked more like pretenders. With a strong core of young dynamic English players, Tottenham has the ability to challenge for the title, but if Harry Kane is indeed on his way out to the galacticos, the window of opportunity for this Spurs team to mount a title challenge may be shutting down quickly.
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Right now, Mauricio Pocchetino’s men look like the only team outside Manchester city limits able to keep up the pace. Two of their next three league games are against Liverpool and Manchester United. Following those games, we should be able to confirm whether Tottenham does indeed belong in the contender category.