Harry Kane scored a late goal to help Tottenham start their pre-season in style with a 3-2 win over Juventus in the International Champions Cup. Oh, and his strike was a stunning effort from the halfway line.
With the score level and two minutes of added time on the clock, Juventus had possession pretty safely on the halfway line but Spurs' pressing saw the Serie A giants dispossessed and it rolled into Kane's path.
The England forward did not hesitate, taking a stride towards the ball before surprisingly hitting it first time. The height and power on his hit was perfect and sailed over the head of former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who was sent scrambling as the ball hit the back of the net at the National Stadium in Singapore.
- Watch his effort below...
Harry Kane that is absolutely filthy from the halfway line 🔥
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) July 21, 2019
...against an ex-Arsenal goalkeeper too 👀
👇 #InternationalChampionsCup2019 #THFC #JUVTOT pic.twitter.com/B9DpyYtHGd
Spurs had taken the lead in the first half through Erik Lamela before two second-half goals in four minutes from former Chelsea loanee Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo put Maurizio Sarri's side in charge.
Mauricio Pochettino's £55.5million club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele was introduced a short time later and the French midfielder took less than two minutes to make an impact, assisting Lucas Moura with his first touch as the Brazilian escaped Joao Cancelo before beating Szczesny from close range.
The game looked to be heading for penalties before Kane's moment of brilliance. Watch the rest of the action below...
Match action
🙌 Troy Parrott denied by Buffon but Erik Lamela guides it home
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) July 21, 2019
⚪ @SpursOfficial 1 up v Juventus#ICC2019 pic.twitter.com/YTIlUwFvzM
⚫⚪ Higuaín makes it 1-1!
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) July 21, 2019
The man back from Chelsea with a lovely finish into the corner#ICC2019 pic.twitter.com/xMJziYD7Tj
🔖 Rule one when playing against Cristiano Ronaldo:
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) July 21, 2019
❌ Do NOT give him this much space in the box
Clinical from the 34-year-old. 🔥 #CR7 #InternationalChampionsCup2019 #THFC #JUVTOTpic.twitter.com/GV4mqszO6V
📽️ GOAL REPLAY
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) July 21, 2019
🎯 Tanguy Ndombele sets up Lucas Moura with his first touch of the ball in a Spurs shirt. Great assist.
👏 #InternationalChampionsCup2019 #THFC #JUVTOTpic.twitter.com/IgpcZNMn4V
What a guy.
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) July 21, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo just made this kid's day - or year! 👏 #CR7 #InternationalChampionsCup2019 #THFC #JUVTOTpic.twitter.com/jOGgjucEiv
Reaction
Harry Kane: "It's probably one of the best goals in my career. I saw the 'keeper was quite far off his line a few times, so I thought I would take the chance if I had the opportunity. I saw him off his line and fortunately it went in."
Mauricio Pochettino: "I think it was a great goal.
"It's unbelievable from Harry. I think it is good for him to start the pre-season scoring. It wasn't the priority to win the game, but to compete in our best way and in the end to win is always better than not winning.
"We are happy with the performance but the most important thing is that we are happy that all the players finished in a good condition to train tomorrow and build step by step our fitness. This type of situation happens because of the quality of the player to see the position of the 'keeper.
"Sometimes you try and it's possible to touch the net, and sometimes you try and the goal is out. It's his talent that in that moment the ball arrived and he decided to shoot. It was a little bit lucky that the goal touched the net."
On his new signing, Pochettino continued: "Ndombele is a player that has the capacity to do what he did today.
"But still it's too far away in his adaptation. It's only one week with us. Today he played more than I expected because our plan was to play him for only 15 minutes, but with the tempo in the second half it was good to give him 30 minutes.
"We are happy with him but still we don't expect too much. We know his talent and what he can add to the team but it's step by step and I don't want to put too much pressure on him."
Maurizio Sarri: "It was a difficult match today. The preparation for this match has been difficult. Tottenham were quicker and more rapid, but this is natural because they are two weeks closer to the start of the season so they're in a more ready position."
