Kane inspired by Messi as Spurs aims to bounce back against Barcelona

Lionel Messi's scoring feats serve as motivation for Harry Kane as Tottenham prepares to face Barcelona in Europe.

Published : Oct 03, 2018 00:06 IST

Tottenham striker Harry Kane during a training session.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane during a training session.
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Tottenham striker Harry Kane during a training session.

Tottenham must not become preoccupied with Barcelona and instead focus on kick-starting its own Champions League campaign on Wednesday, according to Harry Kane.

The Premier League club goes into the Group B fixture at Wembley Stadium without a point to its name after letting slip a one-goal lead in a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Inter.

Spurs opened with a home win over Borussia Dortmund in last season's competition but, after its late collapse in Italy last month, now faces the daunting prospect of hosting the LaLiga champion knowing another defeat will put a serious dent in its qualification hopes.

Yet while he acknowledges Lionel Messi's side will provide a "big test", Kane wants Spurs to play positively in front of its own fans, rather than worry too much about its star-studded opponent.

"It's a massive game in the group - you never want to start with two losses," the striker told the media.

"At home, we've got to be strong if we want to progress. It's a big game for us, obviously. We know Barcelona are a top side but we showed last year that we can beat the top teams, especially at home.

"We are looking forward to the game and we know it's a big test. As players, you want to play against the best in the world, and Messi is certainly that.

"But we need to focus on ourselves as well - we've got some great players and we need to play with energy and attack the game. Hopefully, if we do that, we can come out on top and take on that momentum for the rest of the campaign.

"We got off to a great start when beating Borussia Dortmund at home last season but obviously not as good in losing to Inter in this campaign, so we need to bounce back."

While Spurs slipped up at San Siro in the opening round of fixtures, Barcelona began with a resounding 4-0 home triumph over PSV that included a hat-trick from Messi.

Kane is full of admiration for the Argentine forward and aspires to match his scoring feats in his own career.

"He and [Cristiano] Ronaldo have gone above the levels others set in the past," the England international replied when asked about Barca's talismanic number 10.

"When you're scoring the number of goals that he is, 40, 50, 60 goals a season, as a striker, I want to match that, I want to do the same.

"He has definitely set the standard for the rest of us - he still is.

"He's still scoring goals, so it motivates me to get even better and improve. Hopefully, one day, I can score as many, if not more, than he has."

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