Tottenham emphatically bounced back from its defeat to Wolves by starting 2019 with a 3-0 win away to Cardiff City as it moved back up to second in the Premier League table.
Mauricio Pochettino was after a response following his team's shock 3-1 loss on Saturday, and Spurs duly delivered as it made light work of hapless Cardiff in south Wales.
Cardiff got off to a calamitous start when Harry Kane netted in bizarre fashion early on and here never looked like being a fightback, particularly after Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min scored to open up a three-goal lead before half-time.
With victory effectively secured by that point, Spurs eased off after the break, though Cardiff was still unable to muster much of a response and Pochettino's men cruised to the three points, taking them back above Manchester City — at least until their meeting with leaders Liverpool on Thursday.
Spurs took the lead after just three minutes, though there was more than a hint of fortune about the goal, as Sean Morrison saw his attempted clearance strike Kane and ricochet into the net.
There was no hint of calamity about Spurs' second, though, as Cardiff was caught on the break and Eriksen dispatched an 18-yard finish into the bottom-left corner after cleverly making space for himself.
Son then got in on the act just before the half-hour mark, latching on to Kane's pass on the right side of the box and finishing across Neil Etheridge.
Cardiff crafted a rare chance at the start of the second half, as Junior Hoilett – on for Josh Murphy at the break – saw a header saved by Hugo Lloris.
Etheridge did well to deny Kane a second late on, racing out and palming the ball away as the striker attempted to skip around him, though it had no impact on the result as Spurs eased to victory.
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