Two minutes into the second half of this tight, bruising, full-body collision of a football match the poor old beleaguered orange ball spun out of a tackle and into a pocket of space between Ben Davies and Séamus Coleman. Both players reacted instantly, flying into that square of green and producing a startling thud, the sound of flesh and bone colliding, that drew a gasp from the crowd on the near side of this steadily disintegrating stadium.
It was just that kind of afternoon, a match of 55 tackles, relentless contact and three goals in the last 11 minutes as the intensity levels dipped, lactic acid flooding the muscles. By that stage the game had already been decided by two moments of cold, calm incision from Harry Kane.
Related: Harry Kane double fires Tottenham to victory as they swat aside Everton
Continue reading...