Dele Alli scores Tottenham’s first goal against Real Madrid at Wembley
Tottenham 3 Real Madrid 1
It will go down as one of the great matches in Tottenham’s history, the evening they humbled the reigning European champions by beating Real Madrid with a blend of discipline and dynamism.
“We now belong not only with the best in England, but in Europe,” declared Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino at the end of a 90 minutes that saw the Spanish giants humbled 3-1.
“We are starting to believe in our potential and qualities. This sort of win has consequences in terms of making us more visible. It’s something that everyone around Europe will have seen.”
They will have seen it, and admired it, aware that it was Real Madrid’s first loss in the Champions League group stage since a 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in October 2012, and their heaviest defeat group stage defeat in nine years.
About last night... http://pic.twitter.com/qy5gOrCZwl
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 2, 2017
Those two stats underline the significance of Tottenham’s achievement but Pochettino was at pains to point out that it’s imperative the club keeps their feet on the ground.
“What we have to do is move to the next level and that is winning things,” he said. “We’re pleased, but it will mean nothing if we have not won anything.”
Real actually started the brighter of the two at a buzzing Wembley Stadium but Tottenham soaked up some early pressure and then took the lead on 27 minutes when Dele Alli poked home Kieran Trippier’s cross from the right.
The England midfielder, who should have scored minutes earlier when he failed to latch onto a similar ball from the impressive Trippier, doubled Spurs’ advantage early in the second half with a shot that was helped into the net by Sergio Ramos’s deflection.
Harry Kane, who showed some intelligent touches throughout, then provided Christian Eriksen with the pass that allowed the Dane to make it 3-0 on 65 minutes and although Cristiano Ronaldo got a goal back for Real with 10 minutes left, the visitors were comprehensively outplayed.
"We feel like we're a top side and nights like these show that we are"
%uD83D%uDDE3%uFE0F Two-goal @Dele_Official on a special night at Wembley.#COYS http://pic.twitter.com/FyxA0ntoVK— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 1, 2017
“We came up against the superior team,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane. “They were better in every aspect.”
The defeat against Tottenham, coupled with Saturday’s La Liga loss to Girona, spells something of a mini-crisis for Real, but Zidane called for the club to keep a cool head.
“We cannot be happy, or in high spirits,” he said. “This is a bad moment, but we must keep our heads up always, knowing football is like this… you have to accept sometimes things aren’t going to go your way.
“I’m not going to say things are going great in the dressing room… but at the same time we played against a very good opponent. We have the rest of the season to turn it around.”
Real are still almost guaranteed qualification for the last 16 after Borussia Dortmund’s shocking Champions League campaign continued with their 1-1 draw at home to Apoel Nicosia, a result that leaves the Germans on just two points, five shy of their Spanish rivals.
As for Spurs, last night’s win secures their passage into the knockout stage for the first time since 2011, an achievement that will boost the club’s revenue and emphasises their arrival among the European elite.
“We are able to compete with teams now on a physical and mental level,” said Pochettino. “Our goals are to win the big competitions. Whether we get there this year or not, we’re certainly moving in the right direction.”
FOUR qualified teams... Who have you most enjoyed watching? #UCL http://pic.twitter.com/E9h8OBHSQI
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 1, 2017
Last night’s Champions League results
Group E
- Liverpool 3 NK Maribor 0
- Sevilla 2 Spartak Moscow 1
Group F
- Napoli 2 Manchester City 4
- Shakhtar Donetsk 3 Feyenoord 1
Group G
- Besiktas 1 Monaco 1
- FC Porto 3 RB Leipzig 1
Group H
- Borussia Dortmund 1 Apoel Nicosia 1
- Tottenham Hotspur 3 Real Madrid 1
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