Europa League
Kane helps spurs move closer to UEL quarter-finals
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.”
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.”
Jose Mourinho has won the Europa League with both Porto and Manchester United
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.”
