England forward Harry Kane helped Tottenham earn a battling 1-1 draw in their Champions League Group H clash against Real Madrid.
Here’s a look at the impact of the in-form striker at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The last time Spurs played at the Bernabeu during April 2011, Kane was on the bench for Leyton Orient against Plymouth. There was, though, no chance of the 24-year-old being swept up his own hype as he now graced one of Europe’s finest stages and was hailed in the pre-match build up by Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane as the ”complete player”.
Kane looked fully focused as the teams observed a minute’s silence in memory of those impacted by wildfires in Galicia ahead of kick-off. Once the action got under way, there was little early opportunity for the Spurs man to stretch the Madrid defence as the home side went on the offensive.
Kane, though, continued his high work-rate and was soon causing problems when a downward header from a corner was pushed over, before then taking the plaudits as his movement helped create the opening goal just before the half-hour. After being denied a potential winner by another great save from Madrid keeper Keylor Navas with 20 minutes left, Kane did not allow his head to drop and led the line with renewed determination.
Harry Kane (R)
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino opted for an attacking line-up when deploying Fernando Llorente up front alongside Kane. Both men put in the required shift as Spurs recovered from a slow start to cause Real Madrid some concern in and around their own penalty area.
It was Kane’s commanding presence at the near post which drew Real defender Raphael Varane in too close as Serge Aurier whipped the ball across from the right which broke the deadlock after 28 minutes. Again, the England striker had his positioning spot on late in the second half when drifting into space at the edge of the box and picked out by Llorente, but was once more denied by a fine save by Navas.
Harry Kane (L)
Kane is currently regarded as one of the deadliest finishers in Europe after scoring 15 goals in his last 11 games. The Englishman had been unfortunate not to swiftly add another to that impressive tally after 18 minutes when a powerful header from a corner was tipped over at point-blank range by Navas.
Kane was then alert at the near post to meet a low cross from Aurier, with his flick goalwards ricocheting in off Varane to put Spurs ahead. Later in the second half, Kane looked to have done everything right when picked out on the overlap in the left side of the Madrid box with 20 minutes left – only for his low, curling shot to be pushed around the far post by Navas at full stretch.
Harry Kane’s shot pushed wide
