Gareth Bale was hailed as one of the world's best players on Wednesday after a quickfire hat-trick steered Tottenham to a 4-0 win over Aston Villa. The Welsh international scored in the 61st, 73rd and 84th minutes at Villa Park as Tottenham went into fourth place in the Premier League.

"He is up there with the best," said Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas. "He is showing tremendous skills and talent, I think he is improving every day - he is such a young player - and he is helping the team. He is one of our major assets.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012