Apoel Nicosia 0-3 Tottenham: Harry Kane bags perfect hat-trick to earn three vital Champions League points for Mauricio Pochettino's side

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As APOEL fans unfurled a protest banner demanding the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, Tottenham stole into the night with three more precious points.

Not, on this occasion, the work of Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, who plundered decorative sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and took them to London.

This was all down to Harry Kane, the prolific Duke of Chingford, the undisputed King of Spurs, the rampant slayer of Cypriot footballing dreams. 

Tottentham's Harry Kane roars with delight after giving his side the lead in their Champions League clash with Apoel Nicosia

It was double delight for Kane just after the hour mark when he slotted home his, and Spurs', second of the game

Kane wheels away after completing his hat-trick and the Tottenham scoring, to earn his side three Champions League points

Son Heung-min shares in Kane's delight at scoring in a half where the Premier Leageue did not have it all their own way

MATCH FACTS, RATINGS, TABLE AND MATCH ZONE

Apoel Nicosia (4-4-2): Waterman 5; Vouros 5, Rueda 5, Carlao 5, Lago 5; Vinicius 6, Morais 6 (Alexandrou 84); Zahid 6.5, Sallai 6.5 (Makris 63, 5), Aloneftis 6.5 (Farias 75, 5); De Camargo 6.

Unused subs: Gudino, Pote, Antoniou, Merkis.

Bookings: Waterman, Vinicius 

Manager: Giorgos Donis 6

 Tottenham Hotspur (5-3-2): Lloris 6.5; Alderweireld 6, Sanchez 6, Davies 6.5; Aurier 4.5 (Llorente 57, 6), Dier 6, Winks 6.5, Tripper 7; Sissoko 7 (Georgiou 84), Son 6; Kane 9 (Nkoudou 75, 5). 

Unused subs: Vorm, Foyth, Walker-Peters, Tashan Oakley-Boothe.

Bookings: Winks

Goals: Kane 39, 62, 67 

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 7 

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic) 6

A look at Harry Kane's opening goal from Sportsmail's excellent Match Zone service. More stats, graphics and info HERE

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When last on this divided island, Kane snatched a winner against AEL Limassol in a Europa League qualifier. That was his sixth goal for the club and will have made an impression on new boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Three years on and Kane was back in Cyprus to torment the Greek side of the island some more, this time registering goals 106 to 108 for his club with a perfect hat-trick.

The first with his left foot and a hint of offside to ease Tottenham nerves as APOEL threatened and the second swept in with his right to shatter any attempted fight-back by the home team.

His third was a header to put victory beyond doubt and ensure six points from two games for Pochettino's team ahead of the next two fixtures, away and at home against holders Real Madrid.

In fairness, he is scoring against everyone. Back to his prolific best after a barren August with nine goals in five games for Spurs this month - seven in his five Champions League appearances. 

Tottenham were greeted by a wall of colour from the Apoel Nicosia supporters inside the GSP Stadium

The visitors had the first chance of the game when Son Heung-min got a chance from eight yards but his effort was saved

Apoel showed themselves to be more than wiling hosts to Spurs, here Serge Aurier closes down Roberto Lago

Harry Kane was in the thick of the action early on, getting a chance to shoot from the edge of the box, only to see it blocked

'It is September, so when he goes through I expect him to score,' smiled Pochettino. 'He has something special in front of the goal and that is why he's one of the best.

'All the strikers who are at this level have something special. They are killers. Harry has this special skill. He is one of the best.'

After declaring his undying love for Kane after two goals at West Ham on Saturday, the Tottenham boss described his top-scorer with care after Tuesday night's heroics.

'I don't want to keep using the same words,' said Pochettino. 'My wife is so jealous and his wife too. He's unbelievable. He is Harry Kane.'

Real Madrid won well in Dortmund but Spurs will go to Spain with confidence. After last season's disappointment, this campaign is much-improved and this was a ballsy win on a night when they were missing six regular first-teamers.

Even so, the holders will represent another step up in class. 

Efstathios Aloneftis takes an acrobatic approach to clearing the ball with an overhead kick in front a watching Aurier

Son would get another chance to shoot just after the 20-minute mark but this time saw his goal-bound effort blocked

Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko leaves Apoel's Hungarian midfielder Roland Salla in pain on the turf with a hard challenge

The Premier League side breathed a sigh of relief when Igor de Camargo smacked an effort against the bar at 0-0

'It is a big challenge for us to see if we can compete,' said Pochettino. 'Both games will be a very important to see which level we are at. We are growing, growing and being competitive, but we need to show ourselves we can compete against teams like Real Madrid.'

Kane, for certain, will relish the inevitable comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

'Big players want to win Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues, FA Cups,' said the England striker. 'That's what we want to try and do. Winning big trophies is the aim. Any big player will tell you that.'

Remarkable as it seems after such a comprehensive result, there were times when Tottenham were vulnerable and the Cypriot champions had their chances.

Hugo Lloris was in goal for Lyon in March 2012, when they suffered a shock Champions League exit on penalties against APOEL.

On his return, Lloris would not be beaten, making important saves in the second-half to deny Roland Sallai and Stathis Aloneftis and protect a 1-0 lead. 

Aloneftis' unorthodox approach was causing Spurs problems down their away side's right-hand side, here Aurier chases back

Kane was the man to remedy Spurs' ills in the first half, taking the one big opportunity to come his way with aplomb

The Tottenham No 10 once again came up big for his side, here he takes the congratulations of Son and Sissoko

When it was still goalless, Sallai beat Toby Alderweireld to head wide and Belgian striker Igor de Camargo side-stepped Alderweireld inside the penalty box and smashed a fierce drive against the bar with Lloris beaten.

Brazilian centre half Carlao missed APOEL's best chance of taking a first-half lead when he missed the target from close range when unmarked at the back-post from a corner.

Alderweireld, who created the first with a pass to Kane, has been disturbed by the changes at the back and does not exude the same control having been shifted from the central role by the arrival of Davinson Sanchez.

The regular changes of personnel at right wing-back probably don't help. Serge Aurier, sent off at West Ham on Saturday, was again erratic and replaced early in the second -half. 

Harry Winks impressed for Tottenham in the middle of the park, making a number of driving runs at the heart of Apoel 

Son flashed an effort across goal as Tottenham began to assert themselves in the second half against Apoel

Kane was having to work hard at the sharp end of the Tottenham attack, here he holds off Apoel's Jesus Rueda

It was a masterful switch by Pochettino. His side were a goal up and under pressure and he solved the problem by replacing Aurier with Fernando Llorente and moving Trippier to the right as he reverted to a back-four.

'I wasn't happy at the moment with the way we were playing and tried to change the system to improve,' said the manager. 'The change was good because we scored two.

'Always you are trying to win the game and find the solution to play better. It was not because I wasn't happy with Aurier. The moment you decide to change the system you have to take someone out and we decided it would be Aurier.'

The switch had the desired effect. Within three minutes, Trippier had released Moussa Sissoko who pulled the ball to Kane on the edge of the penalty area.

Then it was Trippier who delivered another excellent cross from the right and Kane arrived to guide a header into the net and there was another match-ball for the collection. 

The England striker slots home his second goal of the night, placing his shot with deadly accuracy past the Apoel keeper

Kane cannot hide his elation after extending the Tottenham lead against their Cypriot opponents in the second period

Kane completed a perfect hat-trick when he headed Tottenham into a 3-0 lead top seal the points for his side

Kane salutes Tottenham's travelling fans with a raised first after scoring the goal to complete his hat-trick