No Kane? No problem as Lucas treble fires Spurs into third

Tottenham proved they can cope without Harry Kane and retook third place in the Premier League as Lucas Moura's hat-trick inspired a 4-0 demolition of Huddersfield in the Premier League on Saturday.

Despite the absence of injured stars Kane and Dele Alli, Mauricio Pochettino's much-changed side made it three victories from their first three games at the impressive Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Pochettino's understudies filled in nicely as Kenya midfielder Victor Wanyama rolled in the opener before Brazilian forward Lucas took centre-stage with an eye-catching treble.

Tottenham have settled well in their new ?1 billion north London home and already relegated Huddersfield provided the ideal warm-up for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg at Manchester City.

Bidding to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish, Tottenham are one point clear of fourth-placed Chelsea, who face leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

Bottom of the table Huddersfield have lost 19 of their last 21 league matches as their two-season stay in the top-flight grinds to a dispiriting conclusion.

It was a reassuring afternoon for Tottenham, whose 1-0 quarter-final first leg win against City on Tuesday came at a heavy cost.

Kane is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering yet another ankle ligament injury, this time in a tackle on City's Fabian Delph, while Alli sustained a fractured hand that left him unable to face Huddersfield. Adding to Pochettino's problems, England midfielder Harry Winks was ruled out of Saturday's game with a groin injury.

But for all the panic about Kane's injury potentially ruining Tottenham's hopes of a successful end to the season, they have won all five of their league games without the England striker this season.

Much sterner tests than Huddersfield lie ahead, including successive Champions League and Premier League matches at City next week, so Pochettino made seven changes, leaving Son Heung-min, Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier on the bench.

It was a gamble to rest South Korea forward Son, who had scored two of Tottenham's three goals at the new stadium, including the winner against City.

All eyes were on Fernando Llorente and Lucas to see if they could fill the gap left by Kane and Son up front.

- Strength in depth -
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