Sports
HARRY Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur put one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals with a clinical display against Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.
Kane opened the scoring with a 25th-minute rebound before doubling Spurs’ advantage with a composed low finish in the 70th minute.
But the Tottenham striker was unable to complete his hat-trick, limping off late on with a knock to his knee.
Spurs face rivals Arsenal in the north London derby in their next fixture on Sunday, and boss Jose Mourinho said the England international will be fit to start.
“Sunday is a match everyone wants to play and little things will not stop him,” he told BT Sport. “I don’t have the feeling it is anything serious.”
‘He does everything’
Mourinho made seven changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace on Sunday, but by keeping Kane as a starter the Spurs manager signalled the club’s intent to fight for Champions League qualification via the Europa League.
“[Kane] is doing everything,” added Mourinho.
“He is doing the striker job of scoring goals. The team work of creating space and linking play and the extra work not many strikers do in defence.
“He helps us a lot. He has an incredible number of clearances from crosses and corners. We couldn’t be happier. I gave a rest to many of the players, but with Harry on the pitch it is a different story for us.”
The hosts took the lead when Erik Lamela skipped forward and struck a post, with Kane on hand to tap in the rebound midway through the first half.
Spurs continued to push forward and felt they should have been awarded a penalty just after the restart when Tanguy Ndombele was brought down in the box by Lovro Majer.
Kane eventually gave the Lilywhites a deserved two-goal lead, slotting home after Kevin Theophile-Catherine’s clearance fell straight to the striker.
Zagreb keeper Dominik Livakovic made a fine save from a dipping Gareth Bale free-kick late on as Tottenham strolled to a win with the Croatian champions offering little going forward.
“I believe one more goal would be a good reflection of the game and would put us in a much better position,” said Mourinho.
“But before the game if you asked if 2-0 is a good result I would say [it is].”
Zagreb’s woes in England – the stats
- Spurs have progressed from each of their previous three knockout ties in the Europa League when they’ve won the first leg – against Lyon and Internazionale in 2012-13, and Wolfsberger in the previous round.
- Dinamo Zagreb remain winless away to English opponents in European competition (D2, L7), with each of their past six trips ending in defeat.
- Spurs have won each of their past five games in all competitions, equalling their longest winning streak under manager Jose Mourinho.
- Including qualifiers, Dinamo Zagreb suffered their first loss in European competition since September 2020 (1-2 v Ferencváros), ending a run of nine games unbeaten and six consecutive wins coming into tonight’s defeat.
- Harry Kane has now scored 26 goals for Spurs in all competitions this season, already surpassing his goal tally from each of his previous two seasons (24 in both 2019-20 and 2018-19).
- Among Premier League players in all competitions this season, Spurs forward Harry Kane has scored the most goals and also made the joint-most assists (16).
BBc Sport
-Mar 12, 2021 @ 09:27pm
Tags: Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur put one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals
