Tottenham's win still comes with a sad Will Lankshear tinge
Tottenham Hotspur completely blew Crystal Palace apart, and even if they had to go up against all 11 Eagles, they would have still come away professional victors for a third straight game in the Premier League. But for all of their dominance and with more than half of their starting 11 registering at least three key passes in the victory, Spurs only scored two goals off headers from defenders.
Dominic Solanke put together another disaster class at striker, and he was literally the only player in the Tottenham starting lineup to not have a great game. At the same time that Solanke struggled badly up top, the player Spurs sold this summer to Middlesborough went off and had another blinder with two goals in a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic.
Yes, it's the EFL Championship, but in any league and any type of competition, what Lankshear is doing is incredibly impressive, and he could easily nail those kinds of finishes in any league. Look, Mohammed Kudus is in the Premier League, and he messed up an open net chance from Luca Williams-Barnett so badly that it looked like he was trying to do some defending for Crystal Palace out of pure pity.
Will Lankshear can't stop scoring
The point remains that Lankshear isn't just on fire. This might honestly be his level, because it has been months since his torrid start to life at Boro and he is still scoring goals like he's the second coming of Harry Kane or something (too soon, too soon, alas).
Will Lankshear now has back to back braces in the Championship and has scored in each of the last five games. So yes, that is now seven goals in five games and an insane 13 goals in 13 games this season. He is literally scoring in every game and has outscored Tottenham Hotspur as a team.
So while Tottenham were amazing again vs. Crystal Palace and dominated in every phase with the back four, midfielders, and wingers totally suffocating the opposition, the lack of goals remains disappointing. And it feels like Tottenham are only a striker away from being the literal best team in a Premier League where only Manchester City and Arsenal are showing up out of the Big Six.
Well, now Tottenham are showing up, too, but everyone can only wonder just how much better they would be if they kept Lankshear instead of selling him, just to start Dominic Solanke up top. Solanke won't be starting much longer, but as Lankshear continues to score, everyone can't help but wonder if they let the next big thing slip out of their fingers.
