London: Harry Kane had to watch helplessly while recovering from surgery as Tottenham’s Champions League qualification hopes slipped away.
It looked like Kane’s season was over — until the Premier League was suspended for three months. Now, at a time when the striker expected to be playing for England at the European Championship, he is back scoring for Tottenham. On his 200th Premier League appearance, Kane scored his first goal of 2020 — after Tomas Soucek’s own goal — to complete a 2-0 victory over West Ham on Tuesday, moving Tottenham within a point of the Champions League places.
“When you have been out for over six months it’s just getting that feeling back on the pitch,” said Kane, who moved to 137 league goals overall. “You can train as much as you want but being out here is totally different.” So very different, these days. For one, there were no fans in the stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Group celebrations are also prohibited. So there was only a solo slide across the field, and Erik Lamela briefly going to jump on Kane’s back before withdrawing.
It was Lamela who gained possession inside his own half to launch the counterattack that ended with Son Heung-min releasing the ball and Kane racing through the porous defense before striking into the net in the 82nd minute. Only Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has scored more goals in his first 200 Premier League games — 138 — than Kane. (AP)
