Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham – story of the match

26 September 2017 22:04
Harry Kane delivered a Champions League masterclass by hitting a hat-trick and leading Tottenham to a 3-0 demolition of Apoel Nicosia.

There are few superlatives left to describe Kane’s relentless goalscoring form but the striker broke new ground in Cyprus with his first treble in Europe’s premier competition.

A cool first-half finish set Spurs on their way before two in five minutes after the interval rounded off another stellar night for Kane, who trundled off to a standing ovation with 15 minutes left.

His ninth club hat-trick also puts Tottenham in a commanding position to qualify from Group H after Borussia Dortmund’s loss at home to Real Madrid leaves the German side six points adrift.

Tweet of the match

Star man

Harry Kane. Who else? The striker now has 11 goals in his last seven matches for club and country. His treble here underlines why he should be classed among the very best strikers in the world. A word too for Harry Winks, who was excellent in midfield on what was only his second start of the season.

Stat Attack

Harry Kane
Harry Kane celebrates his second goal (Petros Karadjias/AP)
Kane has now scored 34 goals in 30 appearances for Tottenham in 2017.

Moment of the match

Igor de Camargo
Igor de Camargo came closest for the home side (Petros Karadjias/AP)
Kane will grab the headlines in what looks like a comfortable victory for Spurs but it might have been different had Apoel taken one of a number of first-half chances. The best fell to Carlao, who headed wide from a corner, while Igor de Camargo rattled the crossbar early on.

Player ratings

Apoel Nicosia: Boy Waterman 6 (out of 10), Praxitelis Vouros 5, Jesus Rueda 6, Carlao 5, Roberto Lago 7, Nuno Morais 6, Vinicius 7, Ghayas Zahid 6, Roland Sallai 7, Stathis Aloneftis 8, Igor de Camargo 6. Substitutions: Antreas Makris (for Sallai 63) 6, Agustin Farias (for Aloneftis 75) 5, Nektarios Alexandrou (for Morais 84) 5.

Tottenham: Hugo Lloris 5, Serge Aurier 4, Toby Alderweireld 7, Davinson Sanchez 6, Ben Davies 6, Kieran Trippier 7, Eric Dier 6, Harry Winks 9, Son Heung-min 7, Moussa Sissoko 7, Harry Kane 10. Substitutions: Fernando Llorente (for Aurier 57) 6, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (for Kane 74) 5, Anthony Georgiou (for Sissoko 84) 5.

Who’s up next?

Huddersfield v Tottenham (Premier League, September 30)

Alki Oroklini v Apoel Nicosia (First Division, October 1)

Source: By PA Sport Staff