Kane scores milestone goal in front of Brazil great Ronaldo

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Tottenham's Harry Kane, foreground and left, scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur in London, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Brazil great Ronaldo was a special guest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday and he was pictured holding up a replica No. 9 jersey with his name on it before the game between Spurs and Wolverhampton.

By fulltime, it was the scoring feats of Tottenham's No. 10 that everyone was talking about.

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It was a milestone day for Harry Kane, who netted his 185th Premier League goal — all for Tottenham, making it the most by a player for a single club in the competition's 30-year history — to seal a 1-0 win.

Kane evaded his marker to nod home from close range in the 64th minute and climb above former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero into fourth place outright in the league's all-time scorers list, just two behind Andrew Cole.

It was also Kane's 250th goal for Tottenham. Jimmy Greaves’ club record of 266 is surely under threat this season.

“It’s been a fantastic nine or 10 years in the Premier League," Kane said. “Hopefully many more years to go.”

And some trophies, too. Because Kane has yet to win one with Tottenham, whose last piece of silverware came in 2008 — a year before he signed his first contract at the club as a 16-year-old hopeful.

“I think every single player is ready to exchange a personal achievement to reach a trophy," Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said. “We’re working on this aspect. The path is difficult, the path is long, but we have to try to do this.”

Making it more difficult this season is the form of Tottenham's fierce rival, Arsenal.

It's three straight wins for the red-and-white half of north London after a polished 3-0 victory at Bournemouth, with playmaker Martin Odegaard scoring two goals in the first 11 minutes and center back William Saliba adding a third from the edge of the penalty area.

Indeed, Arsenal — on nine points — and Tottenham — on seven — are the current top two after three games. Manchester City, which won its first two games, could break up the north London axis at the summit by beating Newcastle on Sunday.

FRUSTRATED FOXES

These are already worrying times for Leicester — and not just because Brendan Rodgers' team has yet to record a win after three games.

For the 2-1 home loss to Southampton, Rodgers left out Wesley Fofana completely from the matchday squad while the French center back is being linked with a move to Chelsea. Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans, meanwhile, only started on the bench amid uncertainty over his future with less than a year left on his contract.

“If your mind isn’t quite on playing, this is a level you have to be totally concentrated on,” Rodgers said.

“There have been a few offers in for some players nowhere near the valuation the club would want to sell. None of them are for sale but I know how the game works.”

Leicester conceded two second-half goals to draw 2-2 at home to Brentford on the opening weekend and did the same to lose to Southampton, with substitute Che Adams scoring both of them — the second an acrobatic volley. A 4-2 loss at Arsenal came between those two home results for Leicester, which sold captain Kasper Schmeichel in the offseason.

PROMOTED CLUBS

Bournemouth might have been eased aside by Arsenal but, in general, it has been an encouraging start to the season for the promoted clubs.

Especially Fulham, which remains undefeated after beating Brentford 3-2 thanks to a 90th-minute header by Aleksandar Mitrovic. That first win of the season goes alongside draws against Liverpool and Wolves.

The other promoted team, Nottingham Forest, came close to a second straight win only for England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to pick out Demarai Gray for Everton's 88th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw.

Still, Forest will be encouraged by having four points already, one behind Fulham.

ZAHA DOUBLE

Make that three in three for Wilfried Zaha.

The Ivory Coast forward scored twice in Crystal Palace's 3-1 win over Aston Villa to follow up his well-taken goal in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Monday.

Mitrovic and Leeds striker Rodrigo are the other players on three goals this campaign.

Villa has lost two of its first three games and manager Steven Gerrard appears to be unsure of his best team, having started with a different forward line in each match.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80


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