Kane relief as Spurs hold off West Ham

In-form striker Harry Kane said Tottenham Hotspur breathed a sigh of relief after holding off West Ham’s spirited fightback to claim a 3-2 win at the London Stadium yesterday. Kane’s first-half double put Spurs in control and Christian Eriksen looked to have wrapped up the points on the hour mark before the Hammers hit back strongly.Javier Hernandez headed home after 65 minutes and Spurs right-back Serge Aurier was then sent off for a second bookable offence shortly afterwards to make it a nervy finish. Cheikhou Kouyate reduced West Ham’s deficit further with three minutes remaining but Tottenham held on to extend their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.“Yeah (it was a relief). Obviously when you’re 3-0 up in a game and you end up going to 3-2 it’s always a bit nerve-racking, especially when you’re down to 10 men,” Kane said. “It is a fantastic result away from home. Obviously going 3-0 up we would have liked to have seen it out a bit better, but a win is a win and we’re delighted with it.”Conte wants more from hat-trick hero Morata Antonio Conte warned Alvaro Morata not to rest on his laurels after the Spain striker hit his first Premier League hat-trick in Chelsea’s 4-0 demolition of Stoke City. Morata has made a strong start to his first season with Chelsea and the former Real Madrid star was too hot for Stoke to handle at the bet365 Stadium.The 24-year-old has six goals in his first six appearances for the champions. Conte was impressed by Morata’s performance, but the Blues boss wants his forward to maintain that level throughout the entire season. “Morata played a good game. A really good performance. Now he has to continue this way to be a great striker,” Conte said.Chelsea remain three points behind Manchester City, but Conte isn’t concerned about the flying start made by the leaders and second-placed Manchester United. “I think we have to be focused at what we do and not others. We want to fight in every competition we are playing,” Conte added.“It was a good day, a good result for us. Stoke are a really good team and very strong. We deserved to win the game. We started well and scored early. We were in control of the game. I repeat it’s not simple to win away against them.”Guardiola crosses fingers over Mendy injury Pep Guardiola says French left-back Benjamin Mendy will be assessed on Sunday after he suffered a knock against Crystal Palace, hailing him a vital cog in Manchester City’s attacking machine. The home side lost Mendy to injury midway through the first half yesterday after a clash of knees with Andros Townsend before finding their scoring touch and pummelling Roy Hodgson’s side 5-0.“Tomorrow, we are going to make a real test,” Guardiola said, referring to Mendy’s injury. “Hopefully, it is just a kick. We will see the situation tomorrow. Without Mendy, we cannot attack fluently.”Mendy himself tweeted: “Great team work today again, sharks were out @ManCity. Tough knock for me but I will be OK. Thanks for your messages!!”Guardiola hailed his free-scoring forwards after City pulled clear of rivals Manchester United on goal difference at the top of the Premier League table. Leroy Sane opened the scoring just before half-time before a brace from Raheem Sterling and further goals from Sergio Aguero and Fabian Delph sealed the emphatic win.Guardiola said the league leaders, who have five wins in six matches, had struggled to get their game going in the early stages at the Etihad Stadium. “The first half we had problems as the ball must be moved and we didn’t move it,” said Guardiola.“We had it but the ball needed to stay as little as possible in our feet before being moved. Too many touches and everything was slow. The second-half was much, much better.”