Leicester join Premier League summit with win over Spurs
Robert Huth took advantage of space and time to head the winner in the final 10 minutes as Leicester City won a 1-0 battle at Tottenham Wednesday night to move level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Barclays League.
The goal came off a routine corner with seven minutes remaining on a night when both teams always played for the three points in an enthralling, tense game that was packed with high quality.
Leicester are tied on points at the top of the table with Arsenal but take second on goal-difference. Spurs stayed in fourth place, now four points back of Manchester City and seven behind the top two after a match that showcased the best of Barclays League pace and drama.
Both teams were very different from Sunday's FA Cup draw, Mauricio Pochettino with seven new starters and Claudio Ranieri with nine changes, including a return to the lineup for Jamie Vardy, back after a minor groin operation had idled him. Vardy managed 70 minutes with some positive effect before giving way to Leonardo Ulloa.
Leicester had scored in their first 18 matches en route to topping the league at Christmas but they came to White Hart Lane on the back of three consecutive Barclays League matches without a goal as they collected just two of nine possible points over the festive season program. Spurs had won three in a row before a draw at Everton in their last league contest.
It was all Tottenham in the opening quarter hour with Kasper Schmeichel producing a good touch-over save to a header from Toby Alderwiereld and Leicester unable to match the home team's early pace. The visitors finally carved out a half-chance in the 18th minute after a giveaway at the back let Shinji Okazaki get in a shot from the top left.
When the Spurs' pace slackened, Leicester showed began to look dangerous. N'Golo Kante broke down the right wing in the 22nd minute, saw his cross from Okazaki partially cleared, but then put a shot well over the bar when the ball broke back to him. Lloris then had to be excellent, making a one-handed flying save to a first-timer from Danny Drinkwater, who nearly beat the Spurs keeper with a volley from 18-yards.
It was Schmeichel's turn to punch a drive away when he reacted well to a Christian Eriksen shot from outside on the half-hour as it was again Spurs' turn to take a grip, without being able to a find a goal before the break in an open, high-tempo match.
The pace remained high when they resumed with Leicester having a good spell that forced the likes of Harry Kane to turn into a defender, his last-step deflection of a Vardy shot notable before Lloris had to make a courageous dive at Vardy's feet when Kyle Walker gave the ball away.
The drama swung to the other end a minute later and it was again Schmeichel's in the hero's role, diving to block a Kane shot onto the crossbar in the 62nd minute when it look like the Tottenham and England star must score. The signaled another spell of Spurs' pressure as the match continued to ebb and flow.
It was bumper cars in the Tottenham box in the 75th minute, three different Leicester attempts cannoning off bodies in the area with Jan Vertonghen one of the defenders to produce a key stop in the sequence. The match swung the other way three minutes later with Schmeichel keeping a Dele Alli shot out at his left-hand corner after Kane played a role in the build-up.
It was left for Huth to finally find the back of the net with a wide open 12-yard header to a corner from Christian Fuchs that floated to the far right and caught the Spurs defenders apparently uncertain on their marking. Huth had time to line up his shot, powering the header to the opposite corner to give Lloris no chance.
