Kane is a beast, says Dortmund goalkeeper Burki
England striker widely feted after becoming Spurs' all-time top scorer in Europe
His manager, opponents and pundits heaped praise on Harry Kane as the England striker became Tottenham Hotspur's all-time top scorer in Europe and fired them into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Kane's second-half goal at Borussia Dortmund yesterday morning (Singapore time) helped Spurs seal a 1-0 last-16, second-leg win to clinch a 4-0 aggregate victory.
It was Kane's 24th European goal - his 14th in the Champions League, added to 10 in the Europa League - to take him past Jermain Defoe's tally of 23.
Said Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc: "After their goal, we were done. You cannot hope to score five."
This is the first time Spurs have made the last eight of the Champions League since 2010/11.
Kane, who missed the first leg through injury, scored with his first chance and only his team's second of the game.
The 25-year-old's 49th-minute run split the hosts' centre-backs, as he latched onto Moussa Sissoko's pass and curled a shot past Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki.
Burki told Goal.com: "Tottenham waited for their chance, and with Harry Kane up front you can do that. You know he will score, and it was like that. It was unlucky for us...
"They had one chance and scored, we had five or six chances and didn't score. Kane is a beast. A player every team would love to have."
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is more than happy to have Kane in his ranks, saying: "I'm so happy for him, you all know how I feel about him - he's one of the best strikers in the world."
But Kane was not the only Spurs player to reach a milestone at Signal Iduna Park as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris kept his 100th clean sheet.
"I want to congratulate Kane and Lloris, too, because that was his 100th clean sheet for Tottenham, which is fantastic for him too," added Pochettino.
"Hugo was great. We conceded more chances than we expected, but this type of game, when you beat them 3-0 in the first leg, is very difficult - they have nothing to lose."
Still, most of the plaudits went to Kane.
Despite Spurs essentially wrapping up the tie in the absence of Kane with a 3-0 first-leg win at Wembley, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes that the difference between the two sides was the 25-year-old.
He said on BT Sport: "Huge result. Lloris was magnificent tonight. Countless top draw saves. If Kane played for Dortmund, they would've gone through."
Fellow BT Sport pundit and former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp agreed, adding: "Idiots have been saying Spurs are better off without him since he's come back. He's the best around."
Former Spurs and England striker Gary Lineker, meanwhile, felt it was a foregone conclusion when Kane bore down on Burki in the 49th minute, tweeting: "There are players that go through one-on-one with the 'keeper and you know they'll score."
ICE COLD
Fellow former England and Spurs player Jamie Redknapp agreed, writing in the Daily Mail: "I played with Alan Shearer for England. Great strikers like him and Kane are ice cold in situations like that. They live for those moments."
Pochettino, however, cautioned that Kane and his teammates must improve in the next round.
He said: "It is so important to be in the quarter-final, but you need to show more if you want to be at the next level. We suffered a bit in the first half."
Meanwhile, Pochettino was yesterday banned for two English Premier League games and fined £10,000 (S$17,800) by the FA for confronting referee Mike Dean after his team's 2-1 away defeat by Burnley last month.
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