Ludogorets 1 – 3 Tottenham

Harry Kane scored his 200th goal for Tottenham in a greatly improved Europa League performance for José Mourinho’s men as they beat Ludogorets 3-1.

Mourinho questioned the attitude of his players after a much-changed team lost in Antwerp last week, but the Spurs had intensity in their game from the start in Bulgaria.

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In his 300th appearance, Kane’s historic moment came when he led a Lucas Moura corner home before returning the favor by making Moura 2-0.

Claudiu Keseru gave the hosts a glimmer of hope by reducing the deficit after the break, but the Premier League side were always in control and it took Heung-Min Son just 17 seconds to make his impact from the bench, setting up the impressive Giovani Lo Celso to score the third.

The result leaves Mourinho’s men in a comfortable position with six points from their first three games in Group J and two remain at home.

How Kane Joined Club 200

This was the Spurs’ second trip to Bulgaria in the space of 60 days after overcoming a tie with Lokomotiv Plovdiv earlier this season. Mourinho called for a powerful performance and his players answered that call with a completely dominant first-half display that should have given up more than the two goals they grabbed.

Kane should have climbed the benchmark in under 90 seconds, but he blazed wildly after Harry Winks’ good pass set him free. Driven by the frustration that followed that failure, Kane unleashed a 25-yard effort at the post.

But there was a sense of inevitability about the goal that finally came as Kane climbed higher from Moura’s corner to bring in his double century.

It soon became clear that it was only going to be a question of how many goals Tottenham would score when goalkeeper Plamen Iliev cleared Gareth Bale’s free kick and Moura missed from close range.

Moura made up for that missed opportunity moments later when Bale played Kane down the right and the forward claimed another assist when he threw a perfect pass to goal that Moura easily finished from three yards.

Mourinho decided to replace Kane at halftime with an eye on the trip to West Brom on Sunday, but the manager might have regretted that after Keseru cut Ludogorets’ deficit four minutes after the restart with one of his first forays into Tottenham territory. He was in the right position to turn home from close range after Bernard Tekpetey’s shot deflected his way.

Kane’s substitute Carlos Vinicius, who is still settling on his move from Benfica, should have opened his account when Lo Celso returned the ball, but it was shot.

Mourinho sent Son out just after time and it only took 17 seconds to make an impact as he set up Lo Celso to grab a well-deserved goal after commanding things from midfield.

Man of the match: Giovani Lo Celso

Lo Celso’s attitude in the midfield set the tone for this professional performance. He was pacing the field tenaciously, bonding with the three forwards impressively with his trademark cute pass. His goal was more because of Son’s excellent assist than his easy finish, but the Argentine deserved to have his moment after a performance that may give Mourinho a midfield headache for Sunday’s clash with West Brom.

Perhaps Kane could have gotten the go-ahead for the Outstanding Player award for his historic goal, but during his 45 minutes on the field, he was actually a waste with his shot. On another night, he could have scored four or five. I’m sure Spurs fans can forgive him.

What the manager said

José Mourinho, Tottenham manager: “We started the game with ambition, which was different than what we did in Antwerp. So good attitude to start with. We tried to kill the game in the first half.

“It was not possible with 2-0 because the 2-0 result is still open, but it was a strong start and a performance with two good goals and hitting the post.

“We dominated completely and I don’t remember a single dangerous situation for them. That made the difference because in Antwerp we gave the rival an advantage and then when they were good they won. They closed everything in the way they could and we couldn’t react.”

Opt for statistics

• Kane became the third player to score 200 goals for Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions, after Jimmy Greaves (266) and Bobby Smith (208).
• Kane is the best player in the Premier League in all competitions this season, scoring 12 goals in 13 appearances, with only Robert Lewandowski scoring as many for a team in the five best leagues in Europe (also 12 for Bayern Munich).
• Kane has been directly involved in 22 goals in just 13 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season (12 goals, 10 assists).
• Including qualifiers, Mourinho has won 15 of his 21 UEFA Europa League appearances with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (71% – 15 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses).

Whats Next?

Tottenham return to Premier League action on Sunday against West Brom in their final match before the international break.