Mauricio Pochettino’s men won their first match in three after comfortably downing their relegation-threatened opponents with two goals from their star striker at Villa Park

Tottenham closed the gap to the leaders to two points with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League after Harry Kane netted either side of half-time.

Kane displayed his intentions within the opening three minutes, latching onto a through-ball before watching his chipped effort strike the top of the crossbar.

On the stroke of the half hour mark, Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan parried Erik Lamela’s effort onto the foot of the post, as he turned Kyle Walker’s low pass goalwards.

After near-constant pressure, Tottenham took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Kane collected Dele Alli’s quickly-taken free-kick before firing past Guzan.

Two minutes following the interval, Spurs put a cushion between the division’s bottom club as Kane netted his second of the day after meeting Alli’s accurate ball into the centre of the box.

Villa went close to pulling back a consolation goal in the dying moments but Rudy Gestede could only strike the frame of the goal from close range.

After criticism for leaving a number of key players out of Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday, Kane, Lamela, Alli and Mousa Dembele were restored to a starting line-up from Mauricio Pochettino that included seven changes.

Two of the returning players combined to create the first opening inside five minutes, with Lamela sliding a pass through for Kane, whose attempt to clip an effort over the onrushing Guzan hit the crossbar.

Alli rifled a 25-yard shot straight at the Villa goalkeeper as Tottenham continued to apply the early pressure, while Eriksen sent a shot from a similar distance wide in the 18th minute.

Garde’s team got the fans on side with some attacking spells of their own, but needed a pair of saves in the space of two minutes from Guzan to stop Kane converting.

The Villa goalkeeper made another important contribution on the half-hour mark, stretching out an arm to Lamela’s attempt to steer Kyle Walker’s cross inside the post onto the woodwork.

But Tottenham finally broke the deadlock when Kane latched onto Alli’s pass and stroked the ball across Guzan and into the bottom-right corner.

Kane added his second straight after the restart, steering Alli’s excellent cross from the left into the roof of the net.

The goal hit Villa hard, with a drop-off in their desire to press the opposition immediately evident.

Walker sent a powerful effort straight at Guzan, while Lamela had a shot deflected wide in the 75th minute as Tottenham showed far less urgency when going forward.

Villa had chances to make a game of it before the final whistle, Ayew and Gestede hitting the frame of the goal within seconds of one another with six minutes remaining.

Lescott also volleyed onto the upright, but it was not Villa’s day as they succumbed to a fifth straight defeat.

Source Goal