LONDON, October 24- Argentina star Erik Lamela scored a memorable wonder goal while Harry Kane grabbed a hat-trick before taking over in goal as Tottenham beat Asteras Tripolis 5-1 in the Europa League Thursday.
The 22-year-old Lamela, who has struggled to settle at White Hart Lane since moving from Roma, had only scored once for Spurs before Thursday but he made up for lost time in spectacular fashion.
After Kane had put the Londoners in front, Lamela hit the target from 20 yards with a stunning “rabona” goal where he wrapped his left leg around his standing right leg, poking the ball into the top corner.
Lamela then added a left-footed screamer after the break with Kane nudging in a close range tap-in before completing his hat-trick with a header as Tottenham joined Besiktas, who routed Partizan Belgrade 4-0, at the top of Group C.
Kane now has seven goals in the tournament but his evening’s work wasn’t finished as he was forced to take over in goal with five minutes left after regular keeper Hugo Lloris was red-carded for a foul on Anastosios Tsokanis.
Kane’s first job was to pluck the ball out of the net after he had allowed the resulting free-kick from Jeronimo Barrales to squeeze under his belated dive.
“It was a great night until I went in goal,” said Kane. “I quite fancied myself in goal, but when I saw the free-kick wobbling towards me I wasn’t too happy.”
On Lamela’s memorable goal, Kane said: “I have seen Erik do that in training — he has that in his locker. It’s great for him to do them in the big games.”
Everton retained top spot in Group F as they battled to a 0-0 draw at Lille following a day of trouble in the French city centre between fans and police ahead of the tie.
The Merseysiders enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but lacked a cutting edge up front as Nigerian number one Vincent Enyeama kept the visitors at bay.
The stalemate lifts Roberto Martinez’s team up to five points from three matches with Germany’s Wolfsburg alone in second on four after they defeated Krasnodar 4-2 with Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne scoring twice.
“I knew it would be a tough game against a good Lille side but I was a bit disappointed with the pitch,” said Martinez.
“People might not have been able to see on television but the pitch was very difficult and we couldn’t get on the ball as much as we’d have liked.”
– Celtic on course –
Celtic remained in second spot in Group D on seven points after a 2-1 win over Astra Giurgiu of Romania with Salzburg still top on goal difference after breezing past Dinamo Zagreb 4-2.
Serbian striker Stefan Scepovic scored his first goal for Celtic in the 73rd minute, heading in an Anthony Stokes free-kick with Stefan Johansen adding the second six minutes later.
Gabriel Enache bundled the ball over the line in the 81st minute to give the Romanians hope but Celtic clung on.
Inter Milan lost their 100 percent record in Group F after a 0-0 home draw with Saint Etienne.
Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are second in the Bundesliga, warmed up for their top of the table clash with Bayern Munich at the weekend with their first win in Group A, a 5-0 mauling of Apollon Limassol.
Guinea international Ibrahima Traore scored two of the goals for the German side. Villarreal stay top with seven points thanks to a 4-1 home win over FC Zurich.
In Group I, Young Boys stunned former UEFA Cup winners Napoli 2-0 thanks to goals from former Paris Saint-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau and Leonardo Bertone.
The win took the Swiss side top with eight points ahead of Sparta Prague, who defeated Slovan Bratislava 3-0 in a match held up by crowd trouble in Slovakia.
Fiorentina are in command of Group K as they made it three wins from three with a 1-0 success at PAOK in Greece.
