Harry Kane has spoken of his determination to emulate or better the prolific scoring output of Lionel Messi, as he prepared to face the Barcelona star in the Champions League at Wembley on Wednesday night.
The Tottenham striker is acutely aware of the need for a positive result, after his team began their campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Internazionale. But the visit of Barcelona also gives him the opportunity to pit himself against the player that he describes as an inspiration and a benchmark.
“Messi sets the standard,” Kane said. “I think him and [Cristiano] Ronaldo have gone above the normal standard that other people have set in the years gone past. When you’re scoring as many goals as he is – 40, 50 or 60 goals a season – as a striker, I want to try and match that.
“He’s definitely set the standard for the rest of us. He is still scoring goals. For me, it motivates me to get even better and improve and one day score as many, if not more than he has,” said the England captain.
Barcelona have conceded in each of their past five La Liga matches while their run of two draws and one defeat in three has led to “crisis” headlines. But Kane made the point more than once that it was about what Spurs did and the energy that the home side brought to the occasion. He and his teammates know they can beat the best after the 3-1 Wembley win over Real Madrid last season.
“I don’t like to watch the opposition defence too much [before a match],” Kane said. “I am strong on focusing on my own game and not worrying about what defenders do and don’t do. It’s a massive game because you never want to start with two losses. We’ve got to be strong at home if we want to progress.”
