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Kane strikes twice as Spurs open season with late win over Villa

Mark Leech/Offside / Offside / Getty

Harry Kane netted a brace as Tottenham Hotspur fought back to beat newly promoted Aston Villa 3-1 on Saturday.

John McGinn left Danny Rose scrambling on the turf before scoring with a cool finish early in the tie, but the visitors eventually succumbed to torrents of Tottenham pressure when Tanguy Ndombele smashed home from outside the area on his Spurs debut.

Kane, who continually drifted into wide positions as Tottenham searched for a winner, wrapped up the victory with a poacher's effort and an accurate 18-yard conversion in the final five minutes of his side's season opener.

Villa were impressive in the opening half. Tyrone Mings was commanding in defense, Jack Grealish showcased his lush dribbling ability on a few occasions, and McGinn, one of the best players over the 2018-19 Championship campaign, was busy in midfield.

In a brief lull from breaking up Spurs' play in the middle, McGinn galloped onto Mings' long ball, unbalanced Rose by delaying his shot, and fired into Hugo Lloris' far corner.

Tottenham mounted furious pressure after Christian Eriksen was called off the bench in the 64th minute. Mings continued to be unaccommodating at the back and Tom Heaton made a few spectacular stops, but there was little the goalkeeper could do when Ndombele's blast from 25 yards sailed through a clump of bodies.

Kane only hit two shots on target, and that's all he needed. Grealish was guilty of ceding possession in his own defensive third after 86 minutes, but it still took two kind bounces off Villa defenders before the ball found Kane. The English marksman used one tidy touch to gather an extra half-yard before banging it beyond Heaton.

The 26-year-old's second strike was even easier on the eye as he confidently arrowed into the bottom corner following another intelligent first touch.

"The tempo of the game, we came out in the second half with a high tempo, pressed well," he told Sky Sports after the match. "When Tanguy (Ndombele) got his goal it was full-throttle until the end. Thankfully a couple of chances fell to me."

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