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Harry Kane’s two goal performance against Dinamo Zagreb has not only given Tottenham Hotspur a two goal advantage in the tie, but has also earned him Europa League’s Player of the Week.
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 12, 2021
Harry Kane takes first place ⚽️⚽️@hankookreifen | #UELPOTW | #UEL pic.twitter.com/rz9eNqjSi3
The only real shame here is that former Spurs man and perpetual fan-favorite, Roberto Soldado, came in third. For those that don’t follow Soldado on Instagram, the man still bleeds Tottenham.
Kane’s first goal was pure instinct. Erik Lamela and his one foot should have walked away in celebration but as “luck” would have it, Harry was nearby to pick up the deflection off the post and passed it into the net.
The second goal came in the 70th minute against some spectacularly poor defending from Zagreb’s #28. I went to go look up more information about him but from what I can see Harry has ended his career. A poor clearance attempt flubbed and a ball that quickly found the right foot of Harry Kane. A quick dummy, then a nutmeg, and Spurs walk away with their second goal of the night. Though, to be fair, it should have been three or four.
It wasn’t all fun and anonymous defender career ending, however. Harry came off (shouldn’t have been on that long) with roughly six minutes to go and sat on the sideline with his right knee wrapped in ice. While mostly overblown as lots of footballers ice up on the bench, one can understand the breath holding given his history. Clearly precautionary and the wrap came off a few minutes later.
Harry Kane's knee getting patched up with some ice #THFC pic.twitter.com/axExoA661M
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) March 11, 2021
I know Harry hates being pulled with a potential hat trick on the table but why Carlos Vinicius didn’t come on sooner is anyone’s guess. Isn’t this exactly why they brought him into the club? Particularly when in the last 15 minutes of the match Dinamo Zagreb decided to just go on an unchecked tackling spree, seemingly double downing on the aggression they were already displaying. Just ask Tanguy Ndombele’s ankles. The ref never had a handle on this match but clearly lost control as the clock ran out.
Even more impressive than Harry’s two goals is the clean sheet with no away goals conceded. Here’s to Vinicius starting the second leg when they meet again on March 18th in Croatia.