Gareth Bale produced a master class to torture Champions League holders Inter Milan as Tottenham took a giant stride towards the last 16 on a memorable night at White Hart Lane. Bale scored a hat-trick in a losing cause when Spurs met Inter in the San Siro - but on a tumultuous occasion that rekindled golden memories of the famous "Glory Glory" nights in north London he was arguably even better as Spurs made it a miserable return to England for former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez. Rafael van der Vaart continued his streak of scoring on each White Hart Lane appearance since signing for Spurs when he gave them an early lead - but Bale was the man who lit up White Hart Lane and reduced Inter's defence, in particular the celebrated Brazilian Maicon, to rubble. Bale ran Inter ragged time and again with performance laced with unstoppable power, pace and a devastating end product that left Inter without any answers. He had already set up a chance which Peter Crouch somehow missed before repeating the trick on the hour to allow the striker to make amends and double Spurs' lead. And even though Samuel Eto'o gave Spurs some anxious moments when he pulled a goal back after 81 minutes, it was only right that the peerless Bale had the last word in a game he made his own with a performance that will illuminate the memory for years to come. As Inter pressed for an undeserved equaliser, he broke away and once again left a succession of Inter defenders trailing in his wake to provide the third and decisive Spurs goal for substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko. This was the night Spurs really arrived in the Champions League - and when Bale confirmed himself as a world-class player on the highest stage in club football. Tottenham now lead Group A after four matches and a win over Werder Bremen, couple with anything other than an Inter defeat, would ensure Spurs reached the last 16. White Hart Lane rose in unison to acclaim Harry Redknapp's team at the final whistle, but the special salute was deserved for Bale as his name rang around the ground amid wild celebrations. Van der Vaart's recovery from the hamstring tweak that forced him off at Manchester United was pivotal to Spurs' plans - and so it proved in an enthralling first 45 minutes. After some high quality early exchanges, in which Eto'o flashed a 20-yard effort inches wide, it was Van der Vaart who gave Spurs the lead after 18 minutes. Luka Modric was the creator with clever sleight of foot on the edge of the area before playing in Van der Vaart, who emphatically beat Inter keeper Luca Castellazzi with a low drive. Inter were suddenly on the back foot, and Bale was in majestic form on the left flank as he tore Maicon to shreds time after time. It was a threat that should have given Spurs a second goal as they tried to press home their advantage. Bale drove into the heart of Inter again before delivering an inviting cross to Crouch at the far post, but with a goal looking inevitable he thrashed a desperate finish across the face of goal, to the obvious despair of Spurs boss Redknapp. Inter, however, carried a real air of menace despite being behind and Spurs keeper Carlo Cudicini was called into action on the stroke of half-time with a flying save to turn Wesley Sneijder's free-kick away from the top corner. White Hart Lane delivered a deserved standing ovation for both teams at the interval, but there was to be disappointment for Spurs as Van der Vaart failed to emerge for the second half after suffering a recurrence of his hamstring problem. Jermaine Jenas was his replacement, but this did not disrupt Spurs' rhythm as they continued to pile forward and after Bale sent an overhead kick inches wide, Castellazzi had to stretch to turn over Crouch's header from an Alan Hutton cross. Bale had produced a performance of the very highest calibre and Inter once again had to bow to his burgeoning talent when he set up the second goal Spurs deserved just after the hour. He simply ran the right side of Inter's rearguard into the ground before playing in Crouch, who made no mistake this time as he slid in six yards out. Inevitably, Bale was the toast of White Hart Lane and taunts of "Taxi For Maicon" rang out as the defender who played such a big part in Inter's Champions League triumph was destroyed by the rampant Welshman. However, Eto'o was a constant threat, and he suddenly injected real tension with a fine goal, struck past Cudicini from an angle after he dummied Hutton. Bale was in no mood to let the win slip away though, and in a moment that characterised his display, he ran through Inter again with a blistering burst that allowed Pavlyuchenko to complete the formalities. Source: BBC