FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Harry Kane scored four of Tottenham’s goals as they continued their pre-season preparations with a 5-1 victory at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The match was dedicated to Shakhtar’s charity supporting the people of Ukraine.
It was also Ange Postecoglou’s first home game in charge of Spurs, receiving a standing ovation from a packed-out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prior to kick-off.
But the story of the day surrounded Kane, whose future remains uncertain following a new bid from Bayern Munich earlier this week. Supporters loudly chanted his name before and during the game, eager for the club’s record scorer to stay.
Here’s how the game panned out in N17.
How the game unfolded
Tottenham were unlucky not to go in front inside two minutes, winning the ball back high up the pitch and cycling possession quickly to Kane, whose shot was palmed away by Andrii Pyatov – on his final appearance for Shakhtar after 16 years of service – with the rebound from Emerson Royal blocked behind for a corner.
Kane went close again in the early stages. James Maddison’s lovely switch of play was brought down by Son Heung-min, who fed the ball through to the Spurs skipper, only again to be thwarted by Pyatov from around 18 yards.
The visitors were causing Spurs problems with their pinpoint passing over the high defensive line. New goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was called into action for the first time when he had to sprawl himself to keep Danylo Sikan from running in on goal.
Midway through the first half, Tottenham neatly carved Shakhtar open. Kane, Son and Maddison all combined on the edge of the box before the South Korean clipped it through for Destiny Udogie, only for the Italian to hesitate when he should have shot, eventually rolling a cross along the six-yard box and the Ukrainians were able to clear.
Substitute goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk’s first save of the afternoon saw him deny Pape Sarr a first Spurs strike, with the Senegal midfielder showing great ingenuity to keep a bobbling ball alive and fire a half-volley towards goal.
Home fans thought they had seen their side break the deadlock soon after. Dejan Kulusevski’s cross was flapped at by Riznyk and the ball landed squarely on the forehead of Sarr, who was unable to get any direction on it and Shakhtar were let off the hook.
Just before the break, Spurs were awarded a penalty when Maddison’s standing leg was hooked by Eduard Kozik. Kane stepped up and fired into the bottom right-hand corner to put the hosts ahead.
Maddison himself came close to getting on the scoresheet, dancing his way past three pairs of Shakhtar legs before poking the ball – a la Ronaldinho – just past the post.
On the stroke of half-time, Shakhtar found themselves level. A deep cross caused trouble in the Spurs box and Kevin Kelsy rose above Ben Davies to head home at the back post.
Straight out of the blocks for the second half, Tottenham found themselves back in front. Maddison’s cross from the edge of the box was expertly met by Kane, heading into the far corner with finesse and precision.
Spurs’ third followed soon after as Kane grabbed his hat-trick, slotting home with ease after being teed up by a clever pass beyond the last defender by Kulusevski.
Kulusevski and Udogie went close to finding Tottenham’s fourth before the hour mark as the hosts quickly clicked through the gears again.
Shakhtar went agonisingly close to pulling one back when a long ball over the sleeping back four, but Bohdan Viunnyk was unable to keep his shot on target;.
The visitors were swiftly punished as Spurs went back down the other end and found their fourth. Substitute Manor Solomon, facing his former side for the first time, brought a low save out of Riznyk with a strike from distance, only for Kane to gobble up the close-range rebound.
For the first time in a Tottenham shirt, Vicario pulled off an astonishing save towards the end of the match, stretching high to deny Newerton’s quick snap-shot.
With the final kick of the game, Dane Scarlett netted Spurs’ neatly swivelling and firing into the top corner from just inside the box.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 6/10 – A little hesitant off his line when Shakhtar tried to quickly break but otherwise had little to do until his show-stopping save late in the day.
RB: Emerson Royal – 5/10 – Sometimes careless with the ball, though at least appeared comfortable being asked to come and play infield.
CB: Cristian Romero – 5/10 – His trademark aggression wasn’t punished today but will be by teams with greater attacking quality at this rate. Capable of building from the back though, which came in handy.
CB: Ben Davies – 4/10 – Rarely used as a centre-back in a back four due to his height. Kelsy climbed up and over him to level the scores today.
LB: Destiny Udogie – 8/10 – Quick off the mark and to the ball out of possession, adventurous going inside-and-out in it. The perfect kind of prospect for Postecoglou to work with.
DM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5/10 – The duality of Hojbjerg was on show today. He picked out Son early on with a tremendous 50-yard pass, but a needless hoof was met with disgust by Postecoglou on the touchline and Shakhtar equalised with their next attack.
CM: Pape Sarr – 6/10 – Another fearless performance from the young midfielder, though was perhaps a little fortunate that referee David Coote did not punish him with a card following a reckless lunge.
CM: James Maddison – 8/10 – Oh, how Spurs have missed a midfielder that loves to get on the ball and play it forward. The former Leicester man also showed his ability to dribble in tight spaces much to the delight of his new fans.
RW: Dejan Kulusevski – 7/10 – Started slowly and was brushed aside physically, but grew into the contest when he started to throw his own weight around and run beyond the last man rather than continually cut inside.
CF: Harry Kane – 10/10 – At the heart of most of Spurs’ attacks. As the match progressed, Kane stopped dropping as deep and played closer to the goal, finding the net a remarkable four times. The prospect of him playing in an attacking team for the first time in four years is exciting.
LW: Son Heung-min – 6/10 – Maddison was tasked with doing most of Son’s pressing, sparing the South Korean energy to try and dart in behind. A little guilty of not firing at goal when presented the opportunity.
Substitutes
SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (77′ for Maddison) – 6/10
SUB: Manor Solomon (77′ for Son) – 7/10
SUB: Dane Scarlett (80′ for Kane) – 8/10
SUB: Oliver Skipp (87′ for Sarr) – N/A
Manager
Ange Postecoglou – 7/10 – The Australian will have been pleased with how his side controlled possession and eventually turned chances into goals. Work still needs to be done defensively but this was another step forward ahead of the new season.
Player of the match – Harry Kane
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