Dele Alli leads Tottenham to stunning 3-1 win over woeful Real Madrid
victory over Real Madrid at Wembley:
1. Alli inspires Spurs to glory vs. Real
He has had to wait for his chance to shine on the Champions
League stage this season, but Dele Alli delivered for
Tottenham when it mattered the most with a two-goal display
to inspire Mauricio Pochettino's team to a famous Wembley
victory against Real Madrid.
Real, the reigning European champions, were undone and
outplayed, with Pochettino out-smarting Zinedine Zidane
tactically in this Group H clash. But it was ultimately Alli's
contribution that proved the difference between the two
teams, with the England midfielder producing his best
European performance for Spurs after returning from a three-
game UEFA suspension.
The 21-year-old opened the scoring on 27 minutes when he
raced into the six-yard box to guide Kieran Trippier's cross
into the net having beaten Real defender Nacho to the ball. He
then made it 2-0 early in the second half when his run into
Real territory ended with his shot deflecting into the net off the
back of Sergio Ramos.
In front of the watching England manager Gareth Southgate,
Alli was also able to keep his suspect temperament in check
against Real, with the former MK Dons youngster letting his
football to do the talking. All in all, it was a performance that
will do little to dampen speculation linking him with a move to
Real, with Harry Kane also showing the Spanish giants that he
can deliver on the big stage with another impressive
performance.
Kane was unable to score on his return from a hamstring injury
but his composed lay-off to Christian Eriksen on 65 minutes
teed up Tottenham's third goal for the Denmark midfielder and
secured the victory long before Cristiano Ronaldo pulled one
back for Real.
Wednesday's victory moves Spurs three points clear of Real at
the top of Group H ahead of their final games against Borussia
Dortmund and APOEL Nicosia.
2. Trippier proves he can perform at the highest level
Trippier has not found this season as straightforward as he
may have imagined after seeing off the challenge of Kyle
Walker at Tottenham. With Walker sold to Manchester City
having lost his place to the former Burnley right-back, Trippier
looked to have had the right-back slot nailed down until
Mauricio Pochettino snapped up Serge Aurier from Paris Saint-
Germain.
Aurier has phased Trippier out of the team and was chosen to
start the 1-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend, but
his erratic performance at Old Trafford opened the door for
Trippier to return to the starting line-up against Real and he
grasped his opportunity in impressive style.
Trippier's biggest asset is his ability to produce dangerous
crosses from the right, something that can outweigh the
defensive deficiencies in his game. But against Real, Trippier
not only provided a threat down the right -- his cross led to
Alli's opener -- but also proved he could defend against a
quality opponent.
He was dogged and disciplined, with Isco usually his opposite
man; he kept the Spain midfielder quiet on a night when Real
were unusually out of sorts. Aurier may have more top-level
pedigree than Trippier from his time at PSG but on the
evidence of the last two games, it is the England defender
who should be starting regularly at right-back.
3. Real were awful but don't write them off yet
Real Madrid's aura of invincibility in the Champions League
was shattered at Wembley as Spurs dominated for 90 minutes
and deservedly won to claim top spot in Group H. It was
Real's first group stage defeat since October 2012, a run of 30
games, and arguably their most humiliating defeat since losing
4-0 against Liverpool at Anfield in March 2009.
As the television cameras focused on crying Real fans and the
stony-faced expression of president Florentino Perez in the
directors box, it was clear that this was a painful experience
for the kings of Europe. Nothing is worse than when opposition
fans began to chant "ole" to mock the opposition, but Real
were so bad that they had to endure that torment.
Despite the big defeat, this is still Real Madrid, the 12-time
European champions and first team to win the Champions
League in successive seasons; one can expect there will be a
response at some stage. They may have made a dismal start
to the season -- Wednesday saw their third defeat in 11 games
-- but big teams and big players tend to bounce back when
they have been embarrassed.
Real have too much quality for that not to happen, but they
will no longer be feared by opponents in the Champions
League after this. For now at least, they're back with the mere
mortals and every team left in the competition in the knock-
out stages will face Real with a new-found sense of belief.
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