Harry Kane sets Premier League on fire… again

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson branded referee Mike Dean "one of the most arrogant men" he had ever met after his side's 4-3 Premier League loss at Tottenham Hotspur.

Pearson was aggrieved by Dean's decision to award Spurs a 64th-minute penalty, which Harry Kane converted to complete his first Premier League hat-trick and restore the hosts' lead after Leicester had fought back from 2-0 down.

The penalty aside, Kane's form was the decisive factor at White Hart Lane as he capped a fine week following his first ever England call-up.

Jamie Vardy and Wes Morgan cancelled out Kane's early brace, but the 21-year-old had the final say by rolling in a penalty after David Nugent was judged by Dean to have taken down Danny Rose in the box.

From there, Spurs always remained in the lead -- despite further goals for both sides -- and manager Mauricio Pochettino was effusive in his praise of Kane.

"If you see the (rest of) the English strikers, he is on top," the Argentine said. "I think fantastic, fantastic game, fantastic performance.

"I'm very pleased for him; his first hat-trick in the Premier League. It's impossible to speak better."

When asked where Spurs would be without Kane, Pochettino puffed his cheeks out.

"I don't know," he said. "I think Harry is part of Tottenham, but we worked hard today. It was a difficult game, but it's true Harry is a very important player for us."

Kane was hugely impressive in putting Spurs into the lead, after home goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had been stretchered off with a gashed knee following a collision with team-mate Kyle Walker.

For the first goal, after just five minutes, Kane opportunistically turned in a set-piece from close range. For the second, his scuffed effort deflected off Robert Huth and in.
 

Pochettino 'worried' by defending

There was no deflecting from the poverty of Spurs' defending, however, as they badly gave up two goals. On 38 minutes, Vardy lashed in Nugent's cross, before Morgan headed in unmarked from a corner in the 50th minute.

Pearson felt that his team had had momentum and a real chance to get a result at that point, only for Dean to point to the spot when Nugent fouled Rose.

"I just find it bizarre -- that's probably the nicest thing I can say," said Pearson, whose side remain rooted to the foot of the table,

"I really do feel at the moment that we continue to be short-changed. I am not suggesting of course that it is deliberate, but we can't be on the receiving end of so many poor decisions."

When asked whether he would speak to the referee, the Leicester manager said: "What's the point? What is the point of talking to him? He is one of the most arrogant men I have ever met. There we are."

Pearson added: "His arrogance is frightening."

The scares for either side were not quite over after the penalty. Leicester's Jeff Schlupp turned a Christian Eriksen effort into his own goal on 85 minutes, before Nugent replied to make it 4-3.

Pochettino made his feelings about Nugent's goal clear by slamming a water bottle to the ground and admitted later that he was "worried" about his defence.

"It's true I'm a little worried," said the Argentine. "You need to understand, we concede after 2-0, two goals to go 2-2. After 4-2, we concede after 90 minutes. We need to improve. Maybe it's part of the process.

"We're a young team. This season, we need to improve our defensive game. I think, after the defeat against Manchester United, it was good to take the positives.

"We need to improve our performance in defensive situations. It's a collective problem." Agencies
 

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