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LONDON. — England striker Harry Kane scored a clinical first-half hat-trick in 23 minutes as Tottenham Hotspur rebounded from their midweek European disappointment to overwhelm Stoke City 4-0 yesterday. Tottenham’s victory put them above Manchester City into second place in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea. Kane put the home team ahead in the 14th minute with his 100th goal in club football, with 84 of them coming for Spurs.

He added another 18 minutes later, volleying in from a corner and completed his third treble in six weeks with a deflected shot. Dele Alli made it 4-0 before halftime from Kane’s cross.

It was a stunning individual performance by the 23-year-old Londoner, who had previously scored hat-tricks against West Bromwich Albion on Jan. 14 and then at Fulham in the FA Cup last Sunday.

The team’s display also justified manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to field an unchanged side despite Spurs having less than 72 hours’ rest after going out of the Europa League against Gent at Wembley on Thursday.

Mid-table Stoke, in contrast, derived no benefit from having had 15 days without a game and were outplayed throughout.

Spurs pressed from the start with some neat close-passing and Kane opened the scoring with an opportunistic effort as the ball ran to him off a defender.

Soon after Jan Vertonghen had struck the bar with a fierce drive, Christian Eriksen spotted Kane unmarked at a corner and picked him out for a perfect low left-footed volley.

Eriksen next teed up a free kick for the striker, whose shot went in off a defender. The goal was credited to Kane, who then did brilliantly on the right flank just before halftime, setting up Alli to score.

Stoke, who were no doubt given a talking to at the interval by manager Mark Hughes, livened up in the second half but Kane was only denied his fourth goal by a fine low save from Lee Grant.

“We wanted to come out and get back to winning ways,” Kane told Sky Sports.

“It was exactly what we need. I just tried to get my shots off and if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.”

Kane’s exploits earned him praise from his manager who labelled him one of the world’s best strikers after a third hat-trick in nine games.

“He’s playing at a very good level,” Pochettino told the BBC. “He’s one of the best strikers in the world. He deserves it because he’s a great professional.”

The Argentine coach was also delighted with midfielder Dele Alli, who was sent off for a wild challenge at Wembley as Spurs went out of the Europa League to Belgium’s Gent on Thursday.

“Dele is very mature and a great boy,” he added.

“I am very pleased for him, he had a difficult few days but it was a good response. He was fantastic on the pitch.”

An eighth successive home win in the Premier League — and 10th in all competitions at White Hart Lane — put Tottenham second in the table, but with a big gap still to make up on London rivals Chelsea.

“Ten points is a big gap, but we keep going and believe,” Pochettino said. “We (will) try to put on pressure.”

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes was upset with his team’s performance in conceding four first-half goals.

Bottom of the Premier League early in the season after a 4-0 home defeat by Spurs, Stoke had improved to ninth place before the weekend but an identical result at White Hart Lane left Hughes fuming.

“We need to get up to speed and understand that wasn’t acceptable,” he told Sky Sports.

“We were short of the levels we’re capable of. Tottenham will test you, they’re a very good team, but we need to do much better in key moments of the game, be much more aggressive.

“We didn’t do that and the manner of the goals is really disappointing because it’s too easy.

“Harry Kane scored three goals but it’s the easiest afternoon he’ll ever have in terms of scoring a hat-trick.

“The game’s over at halftime.

“We can’t keep taking a step back before we move forward again. So it’ll be a long week ahead of us.” — Reuters.