Conte-plus-Kane effect blows open the Premier League title race

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte might just end up featuring once again in TV montages depicting how a Premier League title was won.

Spurs’ Harry Kane slots the ball into the net for his first goal against Manchester City

We’ve seen it before from Antonio Conte — the clenched fists, the war cry, the bulging veins — the antics of the dug-out’s most gifted madman celebrating a winning goal. At Chelsea this routine was regularly indulged as he made them champions. Tottenham Hotspur are chasing less lofty targets but crazed images of Conte might just end up featuring once again in TV montages depicting how a Premier League title was won.

That will happen if Liverpool can capitalise on a seismic Saturday to go on and overhaul Manchester City, whose once-steepling lead will be down to three points should Jurgen Klopp’s team defeat Leeds United on Wednesday. The scenes here came in the 95th minute of the weekend clash between Spurs and City, when Harry Kane headed past Ederson to give Spurs the lead for a third time in an epic and often manic game.

Conte leapt up from his seat and charged out on to the pitch in full-on lunatic mode — and 3-2 it stayed. The Italian blew a gasket as the title race blew open.

His tactical brilliance and the belief he instils in his teams was a big story, but not the main one. That narrative involved Kane, and perhaps it was inevitable that the striker Pep Guardiola chased last summer would end up as his nemesis.

Kane’s winner was merely the last of many luminous acts in a performance that must rank among the very finest of his career. “Unplayable” is an overused expression in match reporting, but that’s exactly what Kane was, from City’s point of view.

Ruben Dias has probably never performed worse in England and Aymeric Laporte was barely better. Guardiola was full of anguish and temper in his technical area — all part of the Conte-plus-Kane effect.

The header was Kane’s second excellent finish, but his work outside the box was just as big a factor: the Conte gameplan involved Kane coming deep to turn and play in runners coming from wide — the excellent Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min.

Son, we know about, and the South Korean’s effervescence and cleverness were important and familiar elements. Kulusevski, 21, was making his first Premier League start after arriving on loan from Juventus, which seemed unbelievable, given his confidence and how well he combined with the other two.

For the winner, Son slipped Kulusevski clear on the right and the Swede bent a wonderful cross to the far post where Kane rose above Kyle Walker to nod down and in.

City had only just made it 2-2 and the fact that they could not see out the rest of stoppage time intact was a testament to Spurs’s ambition and their own uncharacteristic lack of control in the game.

This ended their 15-game undefeated run and completed Spurs’ first double (home and away victories) against reigning champions in 35 years.

Conte has troubled Guardiola before. He defeated him twice with Chelsea in 2016-17 and his tropes of a deep-lying back three, cleverly-angled long counter-attacks and dynamism in wide areas seem to disrupt City’s attacking and defensive structures. Spurs had 28 per cent of the possession at the Etihad, but most of the dangerous situations.

They took just four minutes to cut open previously the meanest defence in Europe’s top leagues.

Ben Davies, whose distribution was superb, played out from defence to Kane, who was coming short and Kane swept the ball, first time, round the corner to release Son. It was an exceptional pass that caught out Dias, completely off with his timing when trying to play offside. Son ran into the box, drew Ederson and squared to Kulusevski. The goal was open but Kulusevski was 18m out, with Joao Cancelo closing, and still had a little to do, yet the Tottenham new boy passed home his finish with obvious class.

Cancelo was the key to City recovering. His interplay with Raheem Sterling tortured Emerson on the flank and twice he shot close — once after a lovely dribble, where he tricked past Emerson and Kulusevski. Ilkay Gundogan was City’s other danger and, after showing nimble feet, curled on to a post.

Then Cancelo exchanged passes with Rodri before finding Sterling, who looped a shot that dipped awkwardly in front of Hugo Lloris. Kevin De Bruyne was closing in, making the situation even more a test — but Lloris failed completely, parrying with rather limp arms to Gundogan, who finished hungrily.

At that point, with 32 minutes gone, it seemed City would get away with their bad opening to the game — one in which De Bruyne, their No.10, and Bernardo Silva, their false nine, seemed ghosts of themselves as Spurs controlled the middle.

The intelligence of Eric Dier, on his return from injury, was influential in this and a combination of Dier, Davies, Cristian Romero and Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg enabled Spurs to weather a City push before half-time. After it, Kane was up to his tricks again.

In the 53rd minute, he retained possession under pressure in midfield and dug out a fabulous pass to release Son. Walker’s recovery saved City, the defender forcing Son to check inside and shoot without sufficient power at Ederson.

But six minutes later Kane came short, collected and swept a pass towards Son, and Dias made his second big error of the game — a weak clearing header. Ryan Sessengon found Son and the South Korean’s chip into the box was delightful, measured for Kane who arrived between Laporte and Cancelo to, without breaking stride, catch the ball on the half-volley and power it past Ederson.

Kane should have scored again when Son slipped him a lovely pass, but Ederson spread himself to block.

Kane appeared to have made it 3-1 when Kulusevski’s cross deflected his way off Cancelo and he tucked a shot past Ederson. However the VAR showed that Kulusevski was marginally offside when he ran on to Davies’s long pass.

Lloris atoned with a marvellous save from Gundogan’s curler but City were beginning to swarm Spurs’ box and two minutes into stoppage time Silva crossed and Romero shot an arm up to block it.

Anthony Taylor missed the offence but VAR brought it to his attention and Riyad Mahrez, a substitute, whipped home a confident penalty. A draw seemed assured but then came Kane. Again.

The Sunday Times