Tottenham Hotspur put further weight to their claim as title contenders with a comfortable win at Carrow Road, courtesy of a brace from Gareth Bale.
Norwich City Vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 2011 Premier League: Confident Spurs Cruise To 2-0 Victory Over Norwich
The Welsh winger was in inspired form, and had already had two fine opportunities in the first half. Firstly, after Russell Martin gave the ball away with a poor touch, he raced clear on goal, only to blaze wildly over. Immediately afterwards, he was denied again, this time by a fine John Ruddy save after bamboozling the Norwich defence with a clever turn.
It seemed to be the order of the day for Spurs, who dominated the game from the kick-off, but were let down by poor touches and shoddy finishing, with Emmanuel Adebayor being one of the main culprits. But not long into the second half, the Togolese striker showed his tremendous strength and, combined with some fine footwork (and a lapse in concentration from Ritchie de Laet), set up Bale to smash home the opening goal.
From then on, it looked a clear victory for Spurs, with Norwich’s front two of Morison and Holt struggling to have any meaningful impact on the game, with the Tottenham midfield completely running the show. It was no surprise when Bale doubled Spurs’ lead, this time with an outstanding goal, producing a phenomenal burst of speed to blaze through the centre of the pitch and get clean on goal, before turning brute force into elegance and composure in an instant, gently dinking the ball over Ruddy to secure the points.
For Norwich, it was a forgettable performance in a game which they never really showed up for. For Spurs, however, the likelihood of putting together a meaningful title challenge is looking more and more realistic with each passing game. They now stand top of the London clubs in the Premier League table, and on their current form, it will not be long before they challenge the Manchester duopoly.
See More:
