No Problem in Norwich

Spurs cruise to a 5-0 win at Carrow Road to secure Champions League qualification | Son shares the Golden Boot with Mo Salah

Now, that's how you end a Premier League season!

Norwich City 0 - 5 Tottenham

As predicted, Spurs totally demolished poor, already-relegated Norwich on the final matchday, sealing our place in the top 4 along with Champions League qualification for next season. The result was never in doubt after the first goal (especially considering that we only needed a draw for top 4), but it was still gratifying to see the team keep up the pressure and provide a decisive scoreline to match the performance. And it was made all the more satisfying in knowing that Arsenal's 5-1 win over Everton was completely meaningless. Another season, another finish above the lot down the road. This has always been the case since I became a Spurs fan, and long may it continue!

The story of the first half was the dominance of our "Juve boys," Kulusevski and Bentancur. The former scored a brace on the day while the latter doubled his assist tally for the season in one game with two assists (keep in mind that he only joined in February basically, so four assists is not a bad total at all). Bentancur's first assist saw him in full-on attacker mode collecting a gorgeous through-pass from Højbjerg, then squaring to Kulusevski for a tap-in in traffic. His second assist came from an unusual blunder from Norwich's keeper Tim Krul, who gifted the ball to our watchful midfielder, who then turned it into the center of the box for a classic Kane diving header. Kane finished the season on 17 goals, which isn't too shabby considering how the season started--not to mention his additional contribution of 9 assists.

Deki got his second goal of the game from an absolute worldie of a shot midway through the second half. His instinct for goals continues to astound me; just when you think he's going to be forced to look for a pass because the angle or the distance to the goal is too great, or the number of defenders in his way is too many, he decides to take a shot anyway and curls it into the back of the net like it's nothing. Simply incredible!

If the new boys were the big talking point of the game up until Deki's 69th-minute substitution, it was our old faithful front three that got the business done in the closing portion. It was starting to look like Son's Golden Boot campaign was going to come up short thanks to a vigilant performance from Krul (well, against Son at least). Funnily enough, it was the introduction of Lucas for Kulusevski that made the difference. Lucas has been rightfully criticized by myself and other fans in recent weeks for some lackluster performances, but we were reminded of the value of his years-long chemistry with Kane and Son in this match (which could very well be his last in a Spurs shirt). Kane connected a pass to Lucas near the edge of the 18-yard box, the Brazilian made an exquisite touch and turn to delicately place the ball at Son's feet, and our Player of the Season made no mistake with his low shot, which curled just pass Krul into the bottom right corner. If his celebration of that goal (which brought him level with Salah for most goals) seemed triumphant, it was nothing compared to his jubilation after scoring again to go into the lead (temporarily, as it turned out). And truly, it was a goal that deserved to earn Son the title of lead goal-scorer. As they would say in NBA commentary, it was a shot from way downtown, and arguably one of the best shots of his career. Please just watch the moment again, in all its glory:

Let's just say a couple of tears may have slipped out when I saw the team lift him up to roar in victory at the away stand. Son has never gotten enough credit in his career, and I'm so thrilled for him that he got to experience such a heroic moment in front of his adoring fans. Sonny, we adore you!

Unfortunately, Salah did score a goal in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Wolverhampton to tie it back up with Son. I suppose I should mention that Liverpool's win wasn't enough to pull off the PL title upset, because Aston Villa blew a 0-2 away lead over Manchester City. I was honestly sad to see Liverpool miss out on the title, not just because I dislike them far less than City, but because it would have been cool to see an English team pull off the quadruple--possibly. They'd still have had to take care of CL magicians Real Madrid in the final, which is no easy feat. Either way, they had a strong season overall and Salah clearly deserved to share the Golden Boot honors with Son. There's no shame in Sonny tying with one of the best forwards in PL history.

And that was that! Overall, the perfect end to a difficult season that involved lots of twists and turns. It was wonderful to see Son earn his individual accolade, but it's also important that the team clinched Champions League qualification to set us up for a successful 2022/23 season.

I'll be back later this week with a full recap of both the Men's and Women's seasons, including player awards, memorable moments, and key reflections. Until then, enjoy your end-of-the-season celebrations and raise a toast to our boys in lilywhite.

COYS