It’s a wonderful night for Tottenham. They haven’t just beaten Real Madrid, becoming the first team to win a group game against the Spaniards since 2012, they’ve outplayed them. That takes some doing. Tottenham were and are really good. True, Real’s attitude was poor, but take nothing away from Mauricio Pochettino’s side. They could have scored more than three. In the end they settled for two from Dele Alli and one from Christian Eriksen. Cristiano Ronaldo replied for Real late on, but it’s Tottenham who are the first team to qualify from Group H. Not the European champions. Tottenham. Now they need to go and win it in order to earn a last-16 tie with Bayern Munich. Meanwhile it finished Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Apoel in the group’s other game, meaning that Real only need a point to qualify. Thanks for reading and emailing. Night.
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Dele Alli speaks! “It was a fantastic performance from us. We knew if we stuck to the game plan and stayed solid at the back, we would have a lot of chances. We spoke after the game at their place and couldn’t believe the space we had. The easy pass was sometimes too obvious at times. We don’t want to compete with these teams, we want to be winning.”
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Full-time: Tottenham 3-1 Real Madrid
It seems that Tottenham have cracked Wembley. They’re through to the last 16 of the Champions League after beating the European champions!
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90 min+3: One last Real corner. It’s headed away and Marcelo slashes a volley high and wide from 20 yards. Oh dear. That will be that.
90 min+1: There will be three added minutes. Dier heads Marcelo’s cross away. The ball’s hoofed clear and Ramos brings down Llorente. Ramos responds by sarcastically applauding the decision and earns a booking for dissent.
90 min: Casilla comes flying out to deny Llorente after a super pass from Eriksen.
89 min: Dembele takes a ludicrous swipe at the ball, completely misses it and sends Ramos flying. He’s booked. Ramos is furious. He thinks the Belgian should be off. Steam is coming out of his ears. Poor Sergio.
87 min: Dembele and Ramos engage in some silliness, each of them putting an arm in the other’s face.
85 min: Ronaldo shoots, Lloris saves.
84 min: Real, improbably, reckon they can still turn this around. Tottenham are sitting deep.
83 min: Suddenly it’s nervy. Hakimi escapes down the right and whips a low ball into the middle. It’s turned out to Marcelo on the edge of the area. His shot’s blocked. Casemiro has a go, but his deflected drive is straight at Lloris.
81 min: Real make their final change, Theo Hernandez on for Luka Modric, who’s given a warm reception as he walks off.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo, 80 min)
A lifeline for Real Madrid. A cross from the right reaches Marcelo at the far post. He turns it back into the six-yard box, a handball shout against Modric goes ignored and when the ball drops to Ronaldo, he makes no mistake from close range, hammering it low past Lloris. The goal’s greeted by a roar of defiance from the home fans.
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79 min: Fernando Llorente replaces Harry Kane, who’s enduring a lamentable two-game goalless streak against Real Madrid.
78 min: Trippier crosses from the right and Alli, in acres of space in the middle, spurns the chance to complete his hat-trick, heading well wide from six yards!
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76 min: That crying Real Madrid fan is probably thinking about switching allegiances to Sunderland.
73 min: The Tottenham fans are cheering every pass and Real will now win 4-3. Real make two changes, Marco Asensio and Borja Mayoral replacing Isco and Karim Benzema.
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72 min: Paging Allardici.
Could Zidane be on the hot seat? Is he trouble? Unthinkable a few months ago, but it is RM and it always ends that way.
— Nathanael Johnson (@NathanaelJohns7) November 1, 2017
70 min: Kroos chips a lovely ball over the Tottenham defence, but it’s just too far ahead of Ronaldo, who kicks the post in anger. The camera picks out a weeping Real fan. Understandable. Never before has a club endured such lean times.
69 min: Prediction: Real Madrid v Manchester United in the last 16.
68 min: Eriksen shoots over from 20 yards.
66 min: Mousa Dembele replaces Harry Winks, who has given another fine account of himself. Meanwhile Lloris does brilliantly to save Ronaldo’s fearsome shot from 18 yards.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-0 Real Madrid (Eriksen, 65 min)
Do not adjust your screens: this is happening. Tottenham are thumping Real Madrid. Honest. Not making it up! This is turning into a rout! Harry Kane still hasn’t scored, but he’s made this one. He picked Ramos’s pocket near halfway and made off towards the Real goal, burning to the right. Nacho came across to confront him but that left a space for Eriksen to run into. Kane just had to pick him out and he did just that. Through on goal, Eriksen held off Modric and calmly clipped the ball past Casilla!
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63 min: This is absurd. From the resultant corner from Isco over on the left, Nacho’s downward header bounces down into the six-yard box. Everything seems to go into slow motion. Kane leaves it. Trippier watches the ball before pushing it off the line. Then it all goes mad. Ronaldo’s follow-up is blocked. The ball falls to Ramos and his shot, from no more than six yards out, hits ... Ronaldo! An unbelievable sequence. There’s still work to do. Moments later Vertonghen makes a great challenge to deny Ronaldo.
62 min: This isn’t over yet. The ball falls to Kroos on the edge of the area and his goalbound volley, struck with such power, is deflected just over for a corner.
61 min: Marcelo crosses, Ronaldo can’t rise high enough.
60 min: Tottenham are thirty minutes from booking their place in the last 16. In the other game in Group H, it’s Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Apoel.
57 min: Cristiano Ronaldo is shaking his head a lot. It’s lucky he’s got so much gel in his hair. Meanwhile Hugo Lloris is still playing through the pain.
GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Real Madrid (Alli, 56 min)
Just as Tottenham were contemplating saying farewell to Hugo Lloris, Dele Alli doubles their lead with his second of the night! It was so simple. A dummy from Eriksen allowed a simple pass through the middle to reach Alli, who beat Casemiro not once, but twice. Having made room for a shot, he struck the ball with his right foot from 20 yards and a deflection off Ramos took it spinning past the helpless Casilla!
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55 min: Hugo Lloris has been grimacing a bit since that collision with Ramos a few minutes ago. Michel Vorm is getting ready for Tottenham. This would be a huge blow for the hosts. But wait...
53 min: Isco looks up and sprays a gorgeous pass over the right of the Tottenham defence for the speeding Marcelo. Tottenham have been sliced into ribbons. Ronaldo is steaming into the middle, but Marcelo’s touch forces him to delay. When he crosses, it’s to no one in particular and Eric Dier shows great composure to control near his own goal and clear. Real’s full-backs are playing much higher now, though, and the visitors have upped the intensity. This could be a long second half for Tottenham.
51 min: A free-kick to Real on the left. Kroos lifts it in and Lloris punches clear before falling over Ramos. Tottenham are awarded a free-kick.
49 min: Kane and Alli take it in turns to bully Casemiro on the left. Kane tries to release Sissoko on the right, but his pass is blocked.
47 min: Kane outlandishly wins possession on the right and bulldozes past a couple of Real defenders. Eriksen is completely unmarked in the middle, but Kane takes too long to release the ball and Modric hurtles back to stop the supply line. But for the Croatian’s intervention there, it was surely going to be 2-0.
46 min: Tottenham get the second half underway.
That Moussa Sissoko assist for Harry Kane was better than any Ronaldinho no-look pass.
Been saying for years a Winks-Sissoko central midfield could trouble Real Madrid, people finally catching up
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) November 1, 2017
Half-time: Tottenham 1-0 Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo is complaining to the Turkish officials as he walks off. Real aren’t happy. It’s been a difficult half for them. They’ve created chances, but they’ve been surprisingly careless in possession and have looked vulnerable at the back. Tottenham are doing well and are worth the lead given to them by Dele Alli. That said, Real will say the goal should have been ruled out for offside. In the other game in this group, meanwhile, it’s Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Apoel.
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45 min+1: There will be one added minute. Tottenham are still attacking. Alli causes problems on the left and goes down under a challenge from Casemiro. Tottenham scream for a penalty. Nothing doing. It might have been. Casemiro got the ball but did so by steering his leg in between Alli’s.
45 min: Davies is back in the action after receiving treatment. One to watch. Tottenham have Danny Rose ready on the bench.
43 min: More space for Real on the right. Hakimi’s clear this time. That’s because Davies has gone down. Hakimi cuts the ball back to Benzema, who sweeps a low shot towards the bottom left from 20 yards, Lloris down smartly to save. Meanwhile a replay of that Kane chance shows his shot beat Casilla before being blocked by the covering Ramos on the line! Incredible defending! Kane must be wondering what he’s got to to do to score against this lot.
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42 min: Having missed the chance to double their lead, now Tottenham are on the rack. Benzema bursts down the right this time. He skitters past one challenge and looks poised to tee up a team-mate for a simple chance. Instead he does Ronaldo no favours at all, rattling his cutback against his fellow forward, who isn’t amused. The ball bounces into the air and Sanchez heads clear.
41 min: Trippier runs at Marcelo on the right, realising that the Real left-back isn’t really up for this tonight, and he bustles past a weak challenge. Space opens up for him. He cuts the ball back to Sissoko, who completely miskicks his effort, scuffing it comically, but it turns into an unintentional genius assist for Kane, who’s denied by Casilla from close range!
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39 min: Winks tugs back Casemiro, who falls dramatically. It’s a bit too far wide for it to be in Ronaldo Territory. Kroos whips it in and it’s flicked on to the far post, where Ramos can’t turn it home. The flag was down. A corner’s awarded. The Spurs fans howl. Then they cheer when their team deals with Isco’s latest delivery.
37 min: Isco escapes down the right, but Trippier calmly chests his cross back to Lloris.
36 min: This would have been special. Alli chips a ball up to Kane, who watches it fall before volleying at Casilla from 20 yards.
35 min: Ronaldo’s cross from the right is deflected to Marcelo, whose driven ball is deflected behind for a corner. Isco’s corner is claimed by Lloris.
34 min: Real won’t be happy when they see a replay of the goal - replays show that Trippier was offside when the ball from Winks reached him.
33 min: Modric lifts the ball over the top, but Ramos is offside. Moments later, Benzema finds Hakimi on the right. The youngster’s cutback finds Ronaldo, the equaliser looks certain. All those white shirts, all that space for Ronaldo. He surprises everyone inside Wembley by shooting straight at Lloris. Real have woken up and remembered they’re the European champions.
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32 min: Ronaldo twists and turns and twists and turns and tries to bewitch Trippier. Eventually he lets fly with his left foot, forcing Lloris to push his powerful effort into the side netting at his near post. Close.
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30 min: Real are stirring. Modric, so quiet so far, bursts into the area from the right and his low cross has to be turned over. The corner comes to nothing.
29 min: But this is better from the visitors, Ronaldo scampering down the right, the flag staying down. Eventually the ball comes to Casemiro on the left. He cuts inside and manages to drive a low shot towards the far corner, Lloris diving to his left to palm it out. Davies heads behind for a corner.
28 min: Cristiano Ronaldo looks miffed. And with good reason. Real have been awful.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Real Madrid (Alli, 27 min)
This has been coming and Real Madrid only have themselves to blame. Nacho was the latest culprit, messing around with it deep on the right. He gave away a needless throw and the ball came back to Winks, midway inside Real’s half. The midfield, who has such a nice range of passing, pinged another pass over Marcelo for Kieran Trippier. Tottenham have been using this ploy all night. This time Trippier’s volleyed low cross beats Casilla and there’s Alli to bundle it in from close range! Not the worst way for him to return to continental competition.
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25 min: Moussa Sissoko replaces the stricken Toby Alderweireld. Eric Dier will drop into the back three. A statistic flashes up showing that Real have had 53% possession. Not that they’re doing much with it. As if to prove the point, Toni Kroos - yes, him - wonks a pass straight out for a throw. That was appalling.
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23 min: Alderweireld surges down the right, looking to seize the initiative, but he’s robbed by Casemiro. At which point the home fans let out a long, disappointed sigh after seeing Alderweireld go down behind the Real goal. He’s done his hamstring. The problem now for Tottenham is there’s no reason for either team to put the ball out as Aldreweireld’s off the pitch. Tottenham are down to 10 and Real counter. Suddenly you remember that Ronaldo’s on the pitch. A long pass from the left finds him in space on the right of the area, but Vertonghen denies him just as he’s winding back to shoot.
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20 min: You feel that Tottenham need to make this dominance count. Real are so lethargic at the moment. Hunted down on the right, Marcelo makes a hash of a clearance, clattering into a slide tackle that only succeeds in diverting the ball to the feet of Winks in the area. Winks mishits his first effort but he still has time to gather himself, dribble to the right and try to stand a cross up to the far post. Casilla collects his tame dink, though.
19 min: Eriksen wins a corner on the right. Ramos thinks the decision should have gone Real’s way and lets the official behind the goal know. No changing the referee’s mind, though. Real have to defend a bit more, then. The corner’s cleared but Tottenham continue to press. Vertonghen clips a cross into the middle and Casemiro has to clear before it reaches Alli.
16 min: Alli lofts a pass from right to left for Trippier, who casually nods inside for Eriksen. His first thought is to look for Kane. This time the striker’s on his heels, though, and Ramos mops up.
14 min: Isco gives the ball away again. Real are increasingly all over the show. Kane spanks a pass out to Trippier on the right and he volleys it across goal in the Dani Alves style. Casilla tips it away before Alli can pounce in the six-yard box. Spurs are starting to ask quite a few searching questions.
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13 min: Isco has his arms in the air after being denied a free-kick for another challenge by Dier. Tottenham are beginning to put themselves about.
11 min: Is Harry Kane fit? He looks fit. Dawdling from Casemiro in the middle invites a burly challenge from Dier and the ball runs to Alli. He pings it on to Kane, who gets the better of Ramos before trying an early chip that’s easily plucked out of the sky by Casilla.
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10 min: Kane bustles away from Nacho, who can’t knock the striker off the ball. Using his strength, Kane finds Eriksen, who sees his shot blocked from 30 yards. Spurs are starting to get a feel for this. Moments later Kane, dropping deep again, lofts a lovely pass over the top for Eriksen. The flag’s down, but Eriksen’s touch invites a saving challenge from Ramos. How open were Real there, though? Tottenham will take encouragement from this little spell.
9 min: Eriksen, starting to find some dangerous positions, almost threads a pass through to Kane. Ramos reads it well.
7 min: Tottenham mount their first proper attack, Kane and Eriksen probing down the right. Kane’s robbed, but the ball comes to Alli on the edge of the area. He tries to combine with Davies, but can’t find a way through. Then Winks’s pass is cut out by Kroos and Real counter at high speed, easily cutting through the Tottenham midfield. Luckily for the hosts, Hakimi’s cross from the right is poor. A better delivery might have resulted in a chance for Ronaldo or Benzema in the middle, while Isco was all alone on the left.
6 min: Benzema and Sanchez give chase to a ball down the left. The Colombian keeps up with the French striker and slides in to concede a corner. Isco swings it in and Ramos, put off by some late jostling from Sanchez, heads over from close range.
5 min: Wembley is very quiet, almost as though the Tottenham fans are as nervous as their team, trying to work out just how difficult this is going to be. Real are still on top.
3 min: The visitors have settled well here, Tottenham sitting back and allowing them easy possession. Ronaldo scampers off to the right to stop the ball running out for a throw and gets there easily. He finds Modric. He finds Isco. The Spaniard drives inside and lets fly from 20 yards, forcing Lloris to dive low to his right to make a save. The Frenchman spills the ball before gathering at the second attempt.
2 min: Real Madrid are quickly into their stride, stroking the ball around neatly and precisely. Tottenham have barely had a kick just yet. The ball’s worked out to Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, a development greeted by pantomime boos. A few stepovers later, he passes back to Marcelo. Eventually a long punt forward runs through to Hugo Lloris.
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Peep! We’re off! Real Madrid, all in black, get the game underway, kicking from right to left in the first half. Tottenham are all in white. “As a Spurs fan, I still feel there are grounds for caution in the group stage,” says Jim Denvir. “The expected results in today’s games would still give Dortmund a win and Spurs a loss, leaving Spurs to travel to Dortmund for the next match just three points clear of them. This could still turn around quite quickly. This is what 40 years of supporting Spurs does to you, in case you were wondering.”
Here come the teams! It’s Wembley! It’s Tottenham! It’s Real Madrid! It’s Harry Kane! It’s Cristiano Ronaldo! It’s Harry Winks! It’s time for the Champions League anthem!
Pre-match reading
Mauricio Pochettino sprung a few surprises when Tottenham visited the Bernabeu a fortnight ago. Not tonight, though. Tottenham are as expected and the big news is that Harry Kane is fit to start after recovering from the hamstring problem that kept him out against Manchester United, meaning that Son Heung-Min drops to the bench. Kieran Trippier replaces Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez comes in for Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli makes his first start in Europe this season after returning from a three-match ban. The bench is strong.
Real Madrid arrive for their first ever game at Wembley missing a few key players. Keylor Navas, Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale are all unavailable for selection. Nacho replaces the excellent Varane in defence, while the 18-year-old Achraf Hakimi starts again at the back. A big night for him. Kane might fancy his chances. Then again, it’s not like the visitors are suffering from a talent shortage. That line-up still contains Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Isco, Karim Benzema ... and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Team news
Tottenham: Lloris; Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Trippier, Dier, Winks, Davies; Eriksen, Alli; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Aurier, Rose, Dembele, Sissoko, Son, Llorente.
Real Madrid: Casilla; Nacho, Achraf, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Isco; Ronaldo, Benzema. Subs: Moha, Vallejo, Theo, Asensio, Mayoral, Vazquez, Ceballos.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
Preamble
Hello. Group of Death? Don’t make Tottenham laugh. Back when the draw for the Champions League group stage was made in August, not many people thought Tottenham’s progress would be moving along with quite this much smoothness, especially when you considered that last season’s European tour featured a comedy Europa League defeat to the might of KAA Gent. With three games left in Group H, however, Mauricio Pochettino’s men are one win away from qualifying for the last 16 and more or less consigning Borussia Dortmund to playing in the same competition as Arsenal. Ha! The indignity!
But hold on a moment there. Not so fast. These things, as ever, are easier said than done. Because while it’s true that Tottenham just need three more points, the first opportunity to get them comes against the European champions. Now, Real Madrid might be struggling a bit this season. They’re eight points behind Barcelona in La Liga after the weekend defeat to Girona, they aren’t playing as a cohesive unit, they have a few injury and fitness concerns, Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t quite exuding his usual Godly hue and Tottenham top the group after leaving the Bernabeu with a mightily impressive 1-1 draw a fortnight ago. It’s Real Madrid, though! The European champions! 12 European Cups! Zinedine Zidane in the dugout! Sergio Ramos in defence! Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield! Ronaldo up front!
These are the occasions that the champions of Spain live for. They’ve already won away to Dortmund this season, with Ronaldo scoring twice, and they start the evening as favourites, knowing that a win would also take them through. Tottenham, meanwhile, are feeling sore after Kaneless defeats to the Uniteds of Manchester and, er, West Ham. They’ll have to be at their absolute best if they’re going to get the job done early here.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
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