Tottenham Wallops Stoke City 5-1
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino challenged his players to consistently show their “true quality” after an emphatic win over Stoke City at Wembley.
Harry Kane scored twice as Spurs scored four second-half goals to climb above Arsenal into fifth in the Premier League table.
It ended a four-game run without a league win, and Pochettino is demanding his side show the same consistency between now and the end of the season.
“That is how we need to play from now,” said the Argentine, after Spurs scored five for the first time this season.
“Consistency between now and the end of the season is so important if we want to finish in the top four. The team showed their true quality.”
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Stoke City: Mauricio Pochettino praises Spurs’ aggression
Spurs went ahead when Potters skipper Ryan Shawcross inadvertently diverted the ball past his own keeper – before three goals in the space of 12 minutes put the game out of sight.
Son Heung-min doubled the lead and Kane’s header made it 3-0.
Kane drilled home the fourth, and Son set up Christian Eriksen for the fifth goal before Shawcross headed a late consolation.
Pochettino admitted Tottenham’s Champions League campaign had been a distraction.
But with Spurs, who finished above Real Madrid in the group stage, not due to play in Europe again until February, he is hoping his side can concentrate on their domestic form.
“Last season we were frustrated because we were very good in the Premier League but we were a disaster in the Champions League,” he added.
“This season the team was so determined to show they can compete in the Champions League and when you mix with the Premier League, that maybe was a bit of a distraction.
“But now we can only be focused on the Premier League and winning games.”
Stoke, meanwhile, have won only once in seven league games and drop to 15th, three points above the relegation zone.
They are the first club in Premier League history to lose to the same opponent by four goals or more in four consecutive meetings.
