Football: Eriksen double earns Spurs win at Stoke City

London: Christian Eriksen maintained his hot goalscoring streak, striking both goals in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 win at struggling Stoke City to extend Spurs' winning sequence on Saturday.
Harry Kane was back to lead Spurs in his first start for nearly a month after recovering from an ankle problem but it was their great Dane Eriksen who struck twice in 11 minutes after halftime to take his tally to five goals in three games in all competitions.
He struck after 52 minutes before a mistake from Hugo Lloris on his 200th Premier League appearance allowed Mame Biram Diouf to equalise within five minutes.
Eriksen then curled in a fiendish 63rd-minute freekick to which Kane claimed to have got the faintest finishing touch with his head only for replays to show the Dane had scored direct.
It allowed Spurs to join third-placed Liverpool on 67 points with a sixth straight win that also extended their unbeaten league run to 14 matches.
The London club also have a game in hand as they seek to finish second behind Manchester City.
"Our target is to finish in the top four, possibly second," Spurs' delighted coach Mauricio Pochettino told the BBC.
"It was a very good performance, very solid. I told them it would be tough as they are playing to survive."
Indeed, Xherdan Shaqiri led a late fightback from the home side, hitting the bar with a freekick, but Stoke still remain rooted one from bottom.
"In the second half, we were more clinical but we are disappointed we conceded so quickly after scoring," said Pochettino.
"The team kept pushing with the right mentality, to fight for every ball. It has put us in a very good position in the table.
"It was tough. We were better but suffered a lot and had to fight for the three points.
"It was a professional performance, not fantastic like against Chelsea, but I am so happy. The squad is full of confidence, all ready to compete and help the team."
Stoke manager Paul Lambert was left frustrated with yet another loss. "Two weeks in a row we come away with nothing," he said. "The effort and commitment I can not ask more. We are just not getting the breaks."