APOEL 0 Tottenham 3: Harry Kane 'better than Ronaldo' after he scores perfect hat-trick to maintain dream start in Europe

Mauricio Pochettino had briefly run out of superlatives for Harry Kane before this match but, after watching a ‘perfect’ hat-trick here of left foot, right foot and header, those increasingly-tempting comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi became impossible to resist.

Indeed, with Tottenham now level on points at the top of Champions League Group H with Ronaldo’s Real Madrid, Pochettino even took the bold step of suggesting that he would prefer Kane in his team. “Cristiano is fantastic; one of the best,” said Pochettino. “Harry is one of the best and maybe better because he is young but I cannot talk about that because both are fantastic. Why do you have to choose?

“They are completely different types. Cristiano is not a main striker, like Messi. Harry has something special in front of the goal. All the strikers who are at this level do. They are killers.”

It certainly felt almost like an act of mercy to Apoel Nicosia when Kane was brought off here in the 75th minute after almost singlehandedly inspiring a 3-0 win. He has now scored 34 goals in his past 30 matches and this was also a fourth hat-trick in the space of just nine months.

What was so striking was how he finished what were only a series of half-chances with the seemingly effortless ease of being faced with a tap-in. Tottenham now have a maximum six points from their two Champions League matches ahead of a trip to the Bernabeu in three weeks that will surely be seen through the prism of the talismanic influence of both Kane and Ronaldo.

Pochettino will also have derived particular satisfaction from the wider context of his team selection being so restricted. Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen were both serving suspensions and, although the unavailability of Mousa Dembele, Eric Lamela, Victor Wanyama and Danny Rose through injury was expected, the late loss of Christian Eriksen due to illness was a big blow that meant several players starting out of their usual position.

Pochettino must have considered changing formation and reverting to a flat-back four but, with Ben Davies able to slot seamlessly into the left centre-back role he plays for Wales, he retained his wing-backs. It meant asking Kieran Trippier to play down the left but his quality off either foot was soon evident when he dissected Apoel’s defence with an in-swinging cross that reached Heung-Min Son. A goal looked certain but the ball hovered just too high and the chance went begging.

An already intense atmosphere had been stirred shortly before kick-off when Ian Moores, a striker who had played for Tottenham in the 1970s and then Apoel in the 1980s, was remembered with a video of some of his 39 goals while living in Cyprus. Moores died of lung cancer in 1998 at the age of only 43 but was clearly recalled with great affection by the Apoel fans.

Apoel were aiming to become the first Cypriot team to defeat an English opponent in European competition and were initially content to cede both territory and possession while searching for the chance to break quickly on the counter-attack.

Davies had spoken before the game of how Spurs were learning to maintain their patience and not fall into the trap of over-committing players, even while in control of the ball, but Apoel were a persistent threat.

They were finding particular space behind Serge Aurier down Tottenham’s right and were within inches of taking the lead when Stathis Aloneftis released Igor de Camargo, only for his powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area to cannon off the cross-bar.

Apoel’s centre-back, Carlao, then got past Toby Alderweireld following Ghayas Zahid’s corner but headed wastefully wide. Tottenham continued to ride their luck when Lloris’s clearance struck Aurier and dribbled back just wide of his own goal. 

It had been a quiet half for Kane but, with 39 minutes gone, he suddenly delivered. Alderweireld played a long ball forward and Kane cleverly turned Jesus Rueda before opening up his body to finish past goalkeeper Boy Waterman with his left-foot. Apoel appealed for offside but replays later suggested that full-back Praxitelis Vouros had played him on. 

Spurs had an excellent chance to extend their lead within seconds of the second-half starting when Kane found Son down Tottenham’s left but his attempt from an acute angle went narrowly wide. 

Apoel were still trying to take the game to Tottenham whenever they disrupted possession and soon twice almost created an equaliser. First Zahid found space and shot over before Roland Sallai forced a save of Lloris. The Tottenham captain then had to be alert again to deny Aloneftis, who had beaten Aurier for pace and delivered a powerful shot.

Pochettino reacted by taking off Aurier and moving to Trippier to right full-back while pushing Fernando Llorente up alongside Kane. It proved inspired, with Trippier then releasing Moussa Sissoko who in turn found Kane on the edge of the penalty area. He instantly brought the ball under control before finishing emphatically.

Kane was still not finished and he then rose to deftly glance Trippier’s cross beyond the helpless Waterman.

It was only Saturday when Pochettino was declaring his “love” for Kane following his two goals in the 3-2 win against West Ham United. Did he have anything more to add now? “My wife is so jealous and his wife too,” said Pochettino. “He’s unbelievable; he’s Harry Kane.”