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Second half goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son helped Tottenham record a 2-0 victory over West Brom at White Hart Lane in the Premier League.
The big news in the buildup to the game was the return to full fitness of the Spurs number 10 and Jose Mourinho included the England international in the starting lineup.
Tottenham started the game on the front foot and asked all the question in the first half. But dogged defending, coupled with an insipred performance from Sam Johnstone, ensured that both sides went into the break level.
There was a chance right on the stroke of half-time for the visitors when Mbaye Diagne headed at goal from point-blank range but Hugo Lloris dived low to his right to pull off a stunning save.
Neither side made changes at the interval and Tottenham started the second half the way they ended the first. The Lily Whites finally got the breakthrough their dominance deserved when an excellent counterattack was finished off by Harry Kane.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played a pin-point through ball after a quick break. Kane controlled excellently, before placing his right-footed shot into the bottom corner.
This gave the hosts added incentive and they doubled their lead soon after. Lucas Moura ran almost the entire length of the field, dragged the West Brom defense to himself, before setting Son up with a through pass.
The South Korea international made no mistake from 14 yards out, sending Johnstone the wrong way with his right-footed shot.
The rest of the half was played with Tottenham controlling the tempo, although West Brom twice had the ball in the back of the net, only to be ruled offside.
The win sees Tottenham climb up to 7th on the table, four points behind the top four. Here are five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Tottenham get back to winning ways
Tottenham came into this game having lost their last three matches in the Premier League. These debilitating defeats had seen them lose touch of the top four and all but ended their title aspirations.
It also marked the first time that Jose Mourinho had lost three consecutive Premier League games in his managerial career.
A clash with an out-of-sorts West Brom represented the best opportunity for the north London outfit to get back on track, and despite a frustrating first half, they ultimately got the job done.
This victory will help instill confidence in a side that had looked toothless in the last few weeks. It also puts them in the right frame of mind for upcoming marquee clashes against Everton and Manchester City.
#4 Firefighter Sam Allardyce losing battle to keep West Brom up
West Brom secured promotion to the top flight last season by virtue of their second-place finish in the Championship last term.
They, however, struggled to get going in the early stages of the campaign, leading to the sack of former manager Niko Kovac.
They turned to Sam Allardyce to help keep them up, and with over half of the season to go, there was genuine belief that he could get the job done.
Sam Allardyce is famous for his ability to keep struggling clubs in the Premier League. His firefighting approach usually sees his sides frustrate opponents with low-blocks and for the most part, this tactic has proved useful.
A 1-1 draw away to Liverpool in just his second game in charge raised belief that the 66-year-old could keep the Baggies up. It has, however, been downhill from there, with just one win registered since that Anfield game.
Against Tottenham, the West Midlands outfit frustrated their hosts throughout the first half but saw their resiastance broken with two breakaway goals.
This loss means that West Brom are now nine points from safety, having played a game more. At this stage, it will take something special for them to remain in the Premier League next season.
#3 The Kane and Son combination comes to the fore once again for Tottenham
This season, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son have been nearly unstoppable for Tottenham. The pair have been directly involved in one another's goals a whopping 13 times already, which saw them equal the record for most direct goal combinations in a single season- set by Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton in 1995.
They are also on course for the all-time record of 36 held by dynamic Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
With Harry Kane having been sidelined for the last few games, Son found himself isolated up front and it came as no surprise when he got back on the scoresheet following Kane's return to the starting lineup.
Although neither player was directly involved in the other's goal, they still played their part in getting Tottenham back to winning ways.
It was both player's 13th league goal of the season meaning that they have each scored 36% of Tottenham's 36 league goals this season. Only Callum Wilson (40%) and Dominic-Calvert Lewin (38%) have a higher portion of their team's total goals in the Premier League.
This underlines the importance of the two men to Tottenham and Jose Mourinho will be hoping that both players remain fit for the rest of the season.
#2 Gareth Bale's struggles continue
When Gareth Bale joined Tottenham in the summer, he brought to an end a miserable time in Real Madrid. There was wideapread belief that he could rejuvenate himself at White Hart Lane, having played some of the best football of his career at Tottenham a few years back.
However, things have unraveled since him joining the club, with a combination of injury problems and loss of form reducing him to a mere squad player.
Jose Mourinho refused to give reasons why he left Bale on the bench despite Tottenham needing a goal against Chelsea last week. The Wales international was once again left on the bench, and despite warming up late on, the last player to be brought on was 16-year-old debutant Dane Scarlett.
It marked the eighth time that Bale failed to leave the bench in the Premier League. In total, the 31-year-old has made just six Premier League appearances for a total of 231 minutes.
This was hardly the return fans envisaged when he signed for Tottenham, and at this stage, it looks unlikely that the club will make his loan move permanent.
#1 Harry Kane returns from injury to write his name into the record books
Harry Kane is arguably playing the best football of his career. The England international has been rejuvenated under Jose Mourinho and has adapted to his new role that requires him to drop deep and influence proceeings.
The 27-year-old has returned 11 assists and 13 goals in the Premier League alone, while 20 goals and 14 assists have been provided from 30 games in all competitions.
Having missed the last two games through an ankle injury, Harry Kane came back earlier than expected to show why Tottenham struggled massively in his absence.
The 27-year-old opened the scoring against West Brom to record his 20th goal in all competitions this season. It means that he has now scored 20 or more goals for Tottenham in each of the last seven campaigns.
It also took him to 208 goals for Spurs in all competitions, placing him joint-second on the all-time list (alongside Bobby Smith). Only the great Jimmy Greaves stands above him with 266 goals, although at this rate, Kane is sure to surpass him in a few years - if he remains at the club.
