Tottenham edge Leicester 3-1 for 4th consecutive EPL win

Colombian centre-back Davinson Sanchez scored his first goal with Tottenham Hotspur to lead his team to a 3-1 win over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium, earning a fourth consecutive English Premier League (EPL) win.

Since losing 0-1 to Manchester United on January 13, Tottenham has beaten Fulham, Watford and Newcastle, but the squad lost to Chelsea in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final on a penalty shootout and Crystal Palace 2-0 in the FA Cup fourth round, reports Efe news.

Sunday's league match was no different as Tottenham's record signee Sanchez opened the scoring on a flying header in the 33rd minute, connecting on a cross by Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen amid protests by Leicester players, who claimed there was an offside.

Sanchez joined Tottenham in 2017 for a club-record fee of $54.39 million from Ajax, where he spent a season.

At the one hour mark, Leicester had a chance to draw level when it was awarded a penalty kick after midfielder James Maddison was downed inside the area by Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen.

Tottenham and French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris prevented English forward Jamie Vardy, who had just taken the field as a replacement for Demarai Gray, from scoring from the 12-yard spot.

Tottenham's ruthless reaction came just three minutes later, when Eriksen fired a right-footed shot from just outside the area that got past Leicester and Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Vardy, a key member of Leicester's 2015-2016 Premier League championship team, redeemed himself a little more than a quarter hour after missing on the penalty shot, putting the score at 2-1 after making the most of a low cross by Portuguese fullback Ricardo Pereira.

South Korean forward Heung-Min Son rounded off the win one minute into the second-half stoppage time on an assist by French midfielder Moussa Sissoko on a counter attack.

"It felt good. I am so happy for this moment, but the most important thing (is) that the team can win," Sanchez said after the win.

"It is step by step, game by game. We will be ready for Wednesday now. It is a big challenge," Sanchez said, referring to the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 game against Borussia Dortmund.

After the win, Tottenham has 60 points and is in third place, two points back of current second-place club Manchester City, which plays Chelsea.

Leicester, meanwhile, is in 12th place, with 32 points, having failed to earn a win since defeating Everton 1-0 on January 1.

--IANS

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