Middlesbrough 1 Tottenham 2: Son Heung-min at the double as Spurs continue unbeaten Premier League start

SPURS maintained their unbeaten Premier League start with a comfortable 2-1 win at Middlesbrough thanks to two goals from in-form Son Heung-min.

It only took seven minutes for Spurs to break the deadlock without Harry Kane, as Son scored his third goal of the season.

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Vincent Janssen laid it off inside the area, and the slotted home from 10 yards amid atrocious Middlesbrough defending – while former Barcelona stopper Victor Valdes got a hand to the ball, but couldn’t keep the strike.

After 23 minutes Son scored again, curling an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner – but he was helped by yet more awful defending as the home side completely failed to get anywhere near the Spurs man.

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The Londoners looked like they were running away with the game in the second half with concerted pressure on the Boro goal - but were soon pegged back by a Boro goal when Stewart Downing's outswinging free-kick was headed in by England-elect centre-back Ben Gibson.

But they could not force the issue any further and Aitor Karanka's men have now lost three in a row while Spurs moved up to second in the Premier League table.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

• Applause from both sets of supporters in the 26th minute for Boro fan Louis Thornton, 26, who died suddenly in Liverpool last weekend before the clash against Everton. Whitby-born Louis was a talented footballer and captain of Isle Of Man team Corinthians AFC.
• Harry Who? Spurs could be without their Talismanic striker Harry Kane for the next month but the England man was hardly missed as the visitors tore through Boro at will and Vincent Janssen proved a more than capable deputy.
• Boos for Victor Valdes from his own supporters after his stand-up row with Ben Gibson. Only one winner there and he’s from Teesside. The Spanish keeper booted the ball into touch after their frank exchange of views during the first-half.
• He may be an Arsenal player but Calum Chambers did his best to gift Spurs a goal and was fortunate Dele Alli missed the target after he had given the ball away to Christian Eriksen before half-time.
• A shocking day for the Middlesbrough midfield but their most gifted players, Gaston Ramirez and Cristhian Stuani in particular gave away possession too easily.
• The last time the two sides met at the Riverside, Middlesbrough won 2-1 in August 2008. The winning goal for the home side, then managed by Gareth Southgate, came from former Spurs striker Mido.

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• The second sell-out of the season at the Riverside, boosted by 3,010 from Spurs, and a crowd of 32,703 – unfortunately that also includes the clown with the drum, which never stops for 90 minutes.
• It is going to be a long season for Alvaro Negredo ploughing the lone furrow upfront. And Aitor Karanka looks set to persevere with one upfront after replacing the Spanish striker with Jordan Rhodes on the hour – and earning more boos from home fans in the process.
• Ben Gibson may have to reconsider his All-Time XI after getting the run-around from Spurs. The Boro defender included four Arsenal players in his selection, and none from White Hart Lane.
• Graham Scott’s first Premier League game and the Oxfordshire official handled the occasion well, although he could have booked Dele Alli for diving after he went to ground too easily in search of a penalty just before half-time.
• Chairman’s nephew Ben Gibson scored his first Premier League goal and his 66th minute header was only the fourth of his career.
• Welcome back to the North East Moussa Sissoko. The former Newcastle midfielder gave away the Boro goal, picked up a nasty injury and hobbled off to boos from Middlesbrough supporters.

BIG PICTURE

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SOCIAL SAYS

DREAM  TEAM RATINGS

MIDDLESBROUGH: Valdes 6, Barragan 7, Chambers 7, Gibson 7, Friend 7, De Roon 6, Clayton 7 (Forshaw 6), Stuani 6, Ramirez 5 (Traore 6), Downing 7, Negredo 6 (Rhodes 6)

Subs not used: Ayala, Fischer, Guzan, Nsue

Goals: Gibson 65

Booked: Friend, Traore

TOTTENHAM: Lloris 6, Walker 6, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 6, Davies 6, Eriksen 7 (Nkoudou 6), Wanyama 7, Alli 6, Sissoko 6 (Lamela 6), Janssen 6 (Winks 6), Son 9

Goals: Son Heung-min 7, 23

Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Carter-Vickers

Booked: Walker

STAR MAN: Son Heung-min, 9

WHAT THEY SAID

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "We fully deserved the result, the most important thing is the victory. Son was fantastic but it was a collective effort.

"The first half was great and we should have scored more than two. We need to learn to be more aggressive and clinical."

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