Tottenham bounced back from Europa League disappointment in superb fashion as they thumped Stoke City 4-0 at White Hart Lane.
All the goals were scored in the first half as Harry Kane hit a 23-minute hat-trick and then set up Dele Alli for the fourth.
That’s Kane’s second hat-trick in a week and third in nine games, an incredible achievement which has taken his tally for the season to 22 in all competitions.
Mauricio Pochettino was understandably delighted with his star man, who was hammered in some quarters for his performance over the two legs against Gent.
“[Kane scored] a fantastic hat-trick and it was a fantastic performance,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.
“He’s one of the best strikers in Europe and I’m very pleased for him because he deserves it.
“He has big potential and lots of room to improve. He’s still very young but his mentality is the best thing that he has. He works hard every day, he is professional and he is a top player.”
It says a lot that Vincent Janssen still wasn’t given any time on the pitch despite Spurs being in cruise control, but that was partly because the Lilywhites were forced into defensive changes.
Both Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen asked to come off as a precaution having taken knocks.
As usual, though, it’s Kane who everyone will be talking about. His assist for Dele was impressive too, and Pochettino singled the youngster out for praise after his dismissal on Thursday.
“We kept the same formation from the Europa League game and I’m very happy because Dele Alli was fantastic,” he added.
“He showed very good maturity and you can see on the pitch that the problem from Thursday didn’t affect him so I’m very pleased for him because he is a great kid.”
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