Three things we learnt from Tottenham’s dominant win over Middlesbrough

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Tottenham closed the gap on leaders Chelsea back to nine points after easing to a comfortable 1-0 victory over struggling Middlesbrough on Saturday night.

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After Chelsea beat Arsenal in the early kick-off, anything other than a win would have essentially called time on Spurs’ title aspirations, but from the first whistle, the result at White Hart Lane never seemed in doubt.

Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele were in imperious form in the midfield, controlling the play, and once Harry Kane dispatched a second-half penalty the result was all but sealed.

The Boot Room explores what we learnt from another home win for Tottenham…

Tottenham need to learn to be clinical to truly challenge

In football it’s said that the result is the only thing that matters – which to an extent is true – but Mauricio Pochettino must be facing rising concerns about his sides’ inability to find the net lately.

After a frustrating stalemate against bottom-side Sunderland during the week, where once again Spurs dominated the play without an end product, it looked like Saturday’s clash with Middlesbrough was heading in an equally frustrating direction approaching the hour-mark.

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Fortunately, a rare rash moment from the visitor’s back-four gave Spurs a welcome break from the spot, but 17 shots (five on target) were still not enough to score from open play against another side battling at the foot of the Premier League table.

It’s hard to pinpoint why Pochettino’s side are struggling for goals; some weeks, like their 4-0 dismantling of West Brom, they will run riot whilst others they’ll lack the final cutting edge.

This is currently what’s separating themselves from Chelsea, as the leaders possess a natural ability to be clinical in the final third and take their chances when presented – Spurs should take note.