If the Manchester duo of City and United had dared to consider that the Premier League title race was their own little private duel, they can think again. Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur closed the gap on the top two to seven points, with a rousing win against Norwich City at Carrow Road last night, and they have a game in hand over their rivals.
There may yet be much work for Tottenham to do ? and they have a history of implosion ? but the manner in which they softened up Norwich in the first half, then finished them off in the second spoke volumes of the patience and staying power that Harry Redknapp, their manager, has instilled in his side.
And if they cannot topple the Mancunian giants, London bragging rights are not a bad consolation prize. Tottenham lie four points clear of Chelsea and five ahead of Arsenal, who drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday. And they have a game in hand over them, too.
Tottenham began the evening 10 points behind City and United but with two games in hand. Unless the title race was to become an all-Manchester affair, they needed to continue the rich vein of form that they have enjoyed since they were humbled by the pair at the start of the campaign.
That they did to good effect in a stirring first-half display that, at times, had Norwich gasping for breath, especially their defenders. Time and again Tottenham tore through them but, typically, time and again Norwich responded with courage. It was all they could do to hang on.
Steve Morison, the Norwich striker, might have been the first player to chance his arm but it was a weak 30-yard effort that Brad Friedel gathered easily. From then on until the break, it was the Tottenham show, with John Ruddy, the Norwich goalkeeper, proving the party pooper.
Norwich may have failed to keep a cleansheet in their 18 previous league and cup matches but Ruddy was determined to do his best in making it 19th time lucky. First he saved from the rampant Gareth Bale, who tormented Ritchie de Laet on the left flank and who was the subject of unflattering chanting ? from the "Snakepit" section at Carrow Road ? about his appearance.
But it did not faze Bale. He kept coming back for more and more ? a curling shot at Ruddy, after he had been set up by Emmanuel Adebayor, and another fierce effort that flew narrowly wide via a deflection off Zak Whitbread. The Wales winger then bamboozled Russell Martin, forcing the error, only to blaze over as Ruddy left his goalline.
Norwich did make the occasional foray, mostly through the muscle of Morison and Grant Holt, but there was too little finesse and Friedel was rarely troubled. Back came Tottenham, again with Bale to the fore and with Luka Modric pulling the strings behind him, and Adebayor raced through alone. He managed to bypass Ruddy but his touch let him down at the vital moment and the ball ran out of play.
Morison tried a cheeky lob on a rare Norwich raid forward but normal service was quickly resumed. Bale forced Ruddy into another spectacular save and then Rafael van der Vaart drove just past an upright. How Norwich had stayed on equal terms was almost inexplicable.
And so it continued after the interval. Bale taking on Norwich almost single-handedly, either hugging the touchline or cutting into the area. Three minutes into the half, he was at it again, jinking in from the right flank. But with a cross to an available team-mate the best option, he selfishly tried a shot himself and failed miserably.
Tottenham did have to survive a scare, though. Gallas fouled Andrew Surman on the edge of the area, for which he was booked, and Surman sent the free-kick skidding just past Friedel's right-hand post. It was unlikely the American would have reached it. But it was just an aberration. Tottenham were soon back on track.
And it was the irrepressible Bale who established their 2-0 lead, within the space of 12 minutes. First, in the 55th minute, Scott Parker, Van der Vaart and Adebayor did all the hard work. Once they had finished ? and they had combined brilliantly ? Bale had no more to do than place his effort past Ruddy, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.
Then, a lightning, trademark break from Tottenham, instigated by Modric, allowed Bale a free run on Ruddy. He accepted it with relish, drew the goalkeeper from his line and delicately dinked the ball over him. For once, thankfully, the idiots in the Snakepit fell quiet. Bale had silenced them in the best possible manner. And in the process he had reignited Tottenham's title chase.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/27/norwich-city-tottenham-hotspur-premier-league
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