Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Leeds United: Premier League – as it happened

9.29am EST 09:29

Here’s a very tired Son-Heung min

“[Exhales demonstratively] It was a really difficult game – they do an unbelievable job and work so hard. We created a lot of chances and got a clean sheet, it’s a fantastic start to the new year. I couldn’t wait [to score his 100th goal for Spurs] and I’m very happy and very grateful for my team-mates who supported me early on. I needed a lot of help for this big achievement and I’m really proud. But the most important thing is that we got the clean sheet here and the three goals.

“Harry and I have been working together a long time so we understand each other really well. I’m really sad that I couldn’t given an assist today for H. The ball he played was perfect for me. Sometimes it’s telepathy, sometimes we work on it.”

9.21am EST 09:21

It was an easy win for Spurs, who were a model of efficiency in transition and could have scored six or seven. Harry Kane’s debatable penalty gave them the lead, Son scored a lovely goal on the stroke of half-time – his 100th for Spurs – and Toby Alderweireld headed the third.

Updated at 9.22am EST

9.18am EST 09:18

90+2 min: Doherty sent off! Matt Doherty gets a second yellow for a late tackle on Pablo Hernandez, and Spurs are down to 10 men. It was a pretty straightforward decision.

Matt Doherty of Tottenham Hotspur fouls Pablo Hernandez of Leeds United leading to a red card. Photograph: Getty Images

Updated at 9.28am EST

9.17am EST 09:17

90+1 min “The Dutch Total Football team and snide fouls in the same post – wash your mouth out, or at least clean your fingers!” says Richard Hirst.

Those boys knew how to look after themselves, Neeskens in particular. There was that great David Lacey line, in 1978 I think, about the Dutch reminding us that they invented the clog.

9.16am EST 09:16

90 min “VAR is the sporting equivalent of Trump,” says Mary Waltz. “No matter how much you do not want to discuss Trump ever again his outrageous actions and words force you back on discussing him. VAR is the same. it ruins everything good in this world.”

So who, or what, is our Joe Biden? Is it Peter Walton?

9.15am EST 09:15

89 min Phillips is booked for a foul on Vinicius. That means he’s suspended for Leeds’ next game, the FA Cup tie at Crawley. It’s almost as if he did it deliberately!

Updated at 9.15am EST

9.14am EST 09:14

88 min “Ndombele is Spurs’ most talented player,” says Cian O’Mahony. “Tough love – or the lack of it – has nothing to do with it.”

He was their most talented player last season, too, and he was crap. I think it’s reasonable to draw a connection, but it’s also reasonable to think he was always going to come good. I feel better already.

9.13am EST 09:13

87 min Harry Kane has made one and scored one, and now he’s done one. Carlos Vinicius replaces him.

9.11am EST 09:11

85 min Hojbjerg is booked, because the referee was running out of time to fulfil his contractual obligation. (And for a foul on Pablo Hernandez.)

9.10am EST 09:10

84 min “Just saw the quiz answer from earlier,” says Peter McHugh. “I worked with a Spurs fan (as I am myself) who always called Vinny Samways, Sammy Heighway. His malapropisms were legendary.”

I’d love to know what he made of Steffen Freund. “Steffen, could I have your autograph? And have you got half an hour to talk about my sexual desire for my mother?”

9.09am EST 09:09

83 min Bamford, 12 yards out, heads straight at Lloris from Raphinha’s cross. Not much of a chance.

9.08am EST 09:08

83 min Phillips blocked Hojbjerg’s shot, though it was going wide anyway.

Updated at 9.09am EST

9.07am EST 09:07

80 min Raphinha zips outside Doherty and drives a speculative cross-shot that is comfortably saved by the falling Lloris.

9.06am EST 09:06

79 min Nothing much happening. Leeds are still bouncing around like Tigger; Spurs are still working very hard to keep Hugo Lloris’s sheet clean.

9.05am EST 09:05

78 min “It’s not quite the same as using by not using, but one of my abiding memories is seeing the Dutch ‘total football’ team of the 70s playing England at Wembley,” says Richard Hirst. “On the TV you saw the pass played and maybe one other option. Live you saw the multiple options available as the team flowed forwards and flowed backwards – breathtaking.”

We’re doing a Joy of Six on that soon – assists without touching the ball. Off-the-ball runs, dummies, snide fouls at set pieces. If you’ve got any nominations, please send them in. No1 is Marco van Basten, that’s all I’m giving you.

9.03am EST 09:03

77 min Another Spurs change: Lucas Moura replaces Tanguy Ndombele, who had a 7/10 kind of day. He’s become a very important player for Spurs, which proves Jose Mourinho’s tough love can work.

9.03am EST 09:03

77 min “The penalty chat has gone way off topic – whether it’s in the box is a fair question (personally I think it is – contact was still being made when they were on the line and in this case advantage should go to the attacker) but the penalty was given live, as it would have been 10 years ago or 20 years ago,” says Phil Beattie. “The fact that it was a foul has nothing to do with VAR whatsoever…”

Yes but I’d argue VAR has increased the number of ‘live’ decisions being given, in the same way DRS changed, for example, the number of LBW decisions given on the field. All I know is that beauty is ephemeral. Oh and that penalties are up by about 100 per cent (I think), and that can’t be right.

9.00am EST 09:00

74 min Pablo Hernandez, who has etc, has another medium-range shot deflected behind for a corner. Leeds are hilarious; they are playing as if world peace depends on their scoring a goal this afternoon.

8.59am EST 08:59

73 min Pablo Hernandez, who has been really good since coming on, has a medium-range shot deflected behind for a corner.

8.59am EST 08:59

73 min “Hi Rob,” says Lalith Adithyan. “How good has Hojbjerg been for Spurs this season. He has been a defensive rock for them this season and spurs have been crying out for a player like him. He has also made some decent runs into the box in this game.”

I must admit, I elevated my nose at precisely 45 degrees when they signed him, but he’s been extremely good.

Updated at 8.59am EST

8.59am EST 08:59

73 min Spurs break from the corner and Kane tries to score from inside his own half. It was a decent strike, which had Meslier backpedalling desperately, but it just cleared the crossbar. Meslier probably had it covered in the end.

8.58am EST 08:58

72 min Another corner for Leeds, won by Shackleton this time. It’s lovely to watch, though we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Spurs are 3-0 up and could have scored 10. I suppose it was always going to be like this, certainly once Spurs scored the first goal.

8.56am EST 08:56

69 min The dynamic Poveda-Ocampo wins a corner for Leeds, who continue to ooze irrepressibility. Phillips’ corner is headed away.

Updated at 8.56am EST

8.55am EST 08:55

67 min “The problem with VAR regarding penalties is that it only shows ‘contact’ but not whether this is enough to impair another player,” says Foderoy78. “Contact is allowed when shielding a ball or during tackling so it’s hard to use it as the sole perpetrator of a pen. The only person who knows if it’s was enough contact is the ‘fouled’ player. When running at full flight it sometimes only needs the slightest touch to be tripped but every tackle is different.”

Yes, agreed. Another problem is that penalties are never given unless a player goes down. It’s all a bit of a mess, and the traditional remedy – the increased use of common sense – isn’t compatible with VAR. I think that in time (I’m talking 10/20 years), there will be two tiers of fouls in the penalty area. I don’t love that idea but it’s better than the current situation.

8.52am EST 08:52

66 min Meslier makes another good save, pushing Kane’s shot round the near post. Bergwijn played Kane in; the angle was tight so he slapped it towards the near post and hoped for the best. Meslier was well positioned and pushed it behind for a corner.

8.50am EST 08:50

65 min Matt Doherty is booked for a fresh-air swipe in the direction of Luke Ayling.

8.50am EST 08:50

64 min Alioski is replaced by Jamie Shackleton. He goes to right back, Stuart Dallas to left back.

8.49am EST 08:49

63 min Spurs look like they might score every time they win the ball back. Who’d be an xG algorithm?

8.48am EST 08:48

62 min: Great goalkeeping! Meslier makes a brilliant point-blank save from Bergwijn, who took Son’s pass on the run, moved away from Alioski and blootered a shot towards goal.

Updated at 8.48am EST

8.47am EST 08:47

62 min “One of the best things about Maxi Rodriguez’s goal,” says Robert Smithson, “is Carlos Bilardo yelling “arco!” (go for goal!) just before he hit it.”

8.46am EST 08:46

61 min A Leeds change: Ian Poveda-Ocampo replaces Jack Harrison.

Updated at 8.47am EST

8.45am EST 08:45

60 min Leeds are playing with their usual optimism, despite the scoreline. Spoiler alert: this doesn’t end 3-0.

Updated at 8.46am EST

8.45am EST 08:45

59 min “Happy new year Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “After the last few games I bailed on watching this game after 18 minutes of Spurs saying ‘come on then Bielsa’. The 2020-grade pessimist in me was expecting a 1-1 draw after 1 shot on target and a 92nd minute equaliser, so chose a walk with the little one. She’s blissfully unaware of how jinxes work (yet) but I may just do that every time in future. Perhaps this is a new dawn. Probably not.”

There are no new dawns, only new years. Now pass me my kombucha.

8.43am EST 08:43

57 min Son is too unselfish for his own good. He breaks into the area from the left, eschews the obvious shot and instead tries a square ball to the unmarked Hojbjerg that is blocked.

8.42am EST 08:42

57 min Leeds’ last five games: 5-2, 2-6, 1-0, 5-0, 0-3. God bless them.

8.42am EST 08:42

56 min “All these debates about penalties would be irrelevant,” says Richard Hirst, “if all teams were as sporting as Fulham and had such incompetent penalty takers.”

Look, man, that’s a good email.

8.39am EST 08:39

54 min “Personally I think it’s more about what constitutes a foul,” says Nicholas of my proposed Ifab penalty review. “Every description of a foul revolves around how a player makes a tackle or challenge. How an opponent tries to win a free kick or penalty does not change the nature of the tackle or challenge. His challenge for the ball has not become careless – which is the minimum requirement – upon the action of the opponent. The opponent being “clever” has not in any way, changed the way someone tackled. If the challenge for the ball was legitimate by any usual definition (not a lunge, no studs showing, no high foot etc) how can it become careless according to the action of the opponent?”

You could argue it is careless for not taking into account the potential movement of the opponent before you get the ball. As with most basic rules, we’ve all lost our bearings since the VAR magnifying glass came out. It’s surely time for us all to stop, collaborate and listen.

Updated at 8.40am EST

8.39am EST 08:39

53 min Spurs are creating chances at will. Kane twists neatly away from Ayling on the left edge of the area and smashes a rising shot into the side netting.

8.37am EST 08:37

Son’s excellent outswinging corner from the right was met by Alderweireld, who flicked a header that went through Meslier and into the net. Meslier had started to come from the cross, which meant he was moving towards his own goal as he tried to make the save. He pushed the ball away when he was in his own net, but technology confirmed it had just crossed the line.

Updated at 8.50am EST