Tottenham moved into the Premier League’s top four following the emphatic win over the Latics.
Ahead of Tottenham’s crucial Champions League tie with Monaco today, Mauricio Pochettino’s men may want to take inspiration from the Spurs side that enjoyed one of the Premier League’s most emphatic wins on this day seven years ago.
While there had been little indication at half-time of Tottenham’s game against Wigan Athletic on November 22nd 2009 that the game would go down as one of the most memorable in recent history – as Peter Crouch had given Spurs a 1-0 at the break – the floodgates well and truly opened in the second-half.
Within 10 minutes of the restart, Jermain Defoe had seemingly put the game to bed by scoring twice to make it 3-0 to the home side.
However, Paul Scharner’s reply for the Latics suggested that the contest was still alive. But those hopes were swiftly dashed.
Defoe completed his hat-trick one minute after Wigan’s goal before Aaron Lennon added a fifth shortly after the hour-mark.
Five minutes later, Defoe bagged his fourth following a brilliant pass from Niko Kranjcar. And with 20 minutes still to go, and with six goals already on the board, the Tottenham fans inside White Hart Lane would have been forgiven for beginning to dream of reaching double figures.
After a goalless 15 minutes, those dreams were reignited as Defoe added his fifth to equal the Premier League record for most goals in a single game. While that record would remain in tact, Harry Redknapp’s men were still not done.
Wigan’s day was summed up as a Kranjcar free-kick came back off the woodwork and hit goalkeeper Chris Kirkland before trickling into the net.
And it was the Croatian who rounded off the scoring as he smashed home an effort from inside the box to make the score 9-1.
While a similar victory over Monaco tonight is incredibly unlikely, Spurs fans will be hoping that – with their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance – Pochettino’s men pull off a win just as memorable.
What will the score be in tonight’s game?
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