Harry Kane earns plaudits after dismantling Manchester City's defence

Despite struggling with his form so far this season, Harry Kane stepped up when Tottenham Hotspur needed him most as he netted a brace to lead Spurs to a 3-2 victory away at Manchester City on Saturday evening.

Antonio Conte's side took to the Etihad Stadium pitch after having lost their last three games in the Premier League, with those defeats coming against Chelsea, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Spurs needed a spark to get their Champions League hopes back on track, and that's exactly what Kane provided, dismantling City's defence to secure a much-needed three points for the north London side.

Kane's performance at the Etihad earned plenty of plaudits, with former England striker Alan Shearer analysing what made the 28-year-old stand out against the Sky Blues.

"That's one of the best all-round centre-forward performances I've seen all season, anywhere," said Shearer on the BBC's Match of the Day show.

"Intelligence, aggression, goals, assists, he was just far, far too good for City's centre-halves Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias - and it is not very often we say that. He was just too clever for them."

"Part of Tottenham's game plan was to keep finding Kane with short passes, because none of the City defenders wanted to drop in with him.

"Spurs kept on getting runners forward to feed off Kane and get in behind. His first-time pass to release Son Heung-min for their first goal was absolutely sensational.

"It was just incredible to watch. Everything he did was magnificent, including his winner. Say what you want about the defending, and it was rubbish, there was only ever going to be one guy getting on the end of that cross and it wasn't Kyle Walker."

Conte's masterplan

Kane was the icing on the cake when it came to Conte's masterplan against one of the most in-form teams in Europe, as Manchester City hadn't been defeated since December 7, when they faced RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage.

"[Conte] denied those spaces where they like to play and where Manchester City like to attack you," added former Arsenal striker and current TV pundit Ian Wright.

"That is between the centre-half and the right-back.

"They got their guys in those holes and were very disciplined in not moving out of them, forcing Manchester City wide and they were very comfortable with that.

"Man City like to play their passes in that area but Tottenham, like Harry Kane, were ready for it. They broke it up, swarmed them and kept them out."

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