Christian Eriksen scored both goals as Tottenham Hotspur made it back-to-back away Premier League wins with a 2-1 victory over Stoke City this afternoon.
The Dane converted from Dele Alli's 52nd-minute cutback to give Spurs a lead which lasted only five minutes as Mame Biram Diouf capitalised on a Hugo Lloris error.
Eriksen's free kick quickly restored Tottenham's advantage, although the playmaker was aiming for a teammate in the box with an intended cross which snuck inside the far post.
Spurs are now unbeaten in 14 league matches and level on points with third-placed Liverpool.
© Offside
Stoke had scored only once in their last four outings and their lack of quality up front was made evident when Diouf blazed over from an Erik Pieters cutback on 12 minutes.
That was the best chance of a first half in which Harry Kane, who had eight goals in his previous four matches against Stoke and was back in Spurs's starting lineup after an ankle injury, was starved of service.
The one clear-cut opportunity that Spurs managed to create before the break came through Alli, who juggled the ball skilfully before releasing Son Heung-min, whose one-one-one was blocked by Jack Butland.
Stoke only held onto their parity for seven second-half minutes as Alli teed Eriksen up for a precise finish into the bottom corner, after the midfielder had been forced wide and seemingly missed a chance to supply Kane.
Lloris, who was at fault for Alvaro Morata's opening goal in Tottenham's 3-1 win at Chelsea last weekend, gifted Stoke an equaliser on 57 minutes when his clearance hit Diouf in the face. The Potters forward composed himself to slot just his second goal since December into the empty net.
Spurs enjoyed their own slice of luck to regain the lead shortly after as Eriksen's delivery from wide evaded everybody in the box and deceived Butland on its way into the net for his fifth goal in three matches.
The Potters desperately pushed for a second equaliser, with Xherdan Shaqiri coming close when his curling free kick thudded the frame of the goal with Lloris beaten. The Swiss international also crossed for Ryan Shawcross to head wide in the dying minutes as Stoke fell to a fourth straight defeat.
It was goalscorer Diouf who spurned Stoke's best opening to snatch a point when he was sent through on goal by Badou N'Diaye, only to see his pass to Shaqiri intercepted by Jan Vertonghen after opting not to take on the shot himself.
Paul Lambert's side remain 19th in the table and are now four points adrift of safety after relegation rivals Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City all picked up valuable draws on Saturday afternoon.
STOKE (4-2-3-1): Butland; Johnson (Crouch, 78'), Shawcross, Martins-Indi, Pieters; Allen, Badou (Zouma, 90'); Bauer, Shaqiri, Ramadan (Campbell, 69'); Diouf
SPURS (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama (Dier, 82'), Dembele; Eriksen, Dele (Sissoko, 90') , Son (Lamela, 67'), Kane
Joe Fish
