Tottenham 3-1 Real Madrid Champions League: match report, goals, action

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Real Madrid

Tottenham Hotspur beat Real Madrid at Wembley in the Champions League on Wednesday night with starring roles for the excellent Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

Alli was making his first appearence in this year's Champions League having been suspended for the opening three games and announced himself in style with a brace in a mature and impressive performance from the Premier League side. 

Kane, on the other hand, wasn't even supposed to be fit but made a quicker return than expected and played almost 80 minutes in the 3-1 win over the reingning champions of the tournament. His hamstring, the source of his injury, held up and he caused problems for whatever Real Madrid defender happened to be unlucky enought to be matched up against him on any given attack.

Zinedine Zidane was forced to shuffle his defense with Keylor Navas out along with Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane but make no mistake about it, this was a comprehensive display and victory by Pochettino's side.

Alli opened the scoring after 27 minutes when a Kieran Trippier first-time cross, which looked like it was from an offside position, found Alli in the centre for him to poke the ball behond Kiko Casilla.

Real Madrid got their act together after that and were starting to lay somewhat of a siege on Spurs' goal but the hosts still had a lethal counter or two up their sleeve that kept Real Madrid at bay.

After starting the second half much better than the home side, Real Madrid came undone again when Alli broke free and forced Casemiro to the ground with a dummy before firing off Ramos' leg to wrong foot Casilla for Spurs' second. 

It was getting worrying for Real Madrid on 65 minutes when Alli play the ball to Kane, who found Eriksen onside only for the Dane to pop the ball beyond an advancing Casilla.

Real Madrid did come to life and had a goal back through Ronaldo on 80 minutes but it was simply a blip from Spurs' resolute backline. They closed out the game and could have had another themselves but Alli missed a header from close range and Llorente was outpaced by Casilla on route to a through ball.

Spurs have qualified for the next round with their win and enjoyed their best night at Wembley since moving there this season. Real Madrid on the other hand have now lost two in a row for just the second time under Zinedine Zidane as they have to come together and figure out how to stop the rot before LaLiga and the Champions League are out of their reach.

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Real Madrid: as it happened

Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid live online: preview

There was nothing to separate these two sides when they met in the Spanish capital just a fortnight ago and that’s reflected in the standing where Real Madrid and Spurs are neck and neck, level on seven points and with an identical goal difference. Maurcio Pochettino’s team will see this game as their chance to knock Los Blancos off the top spot in the group and claim it for themselves. Madrid meanwhile will be attempting to redress what has been a miserable few days in which they are still licking their wounds from Saturday’s shock defeat to LaLiga newcomers Girona. Zidane’s team looked jumbled and disoriented at the Montilivi – and worse still, that result dents their title credentials as they now trail leaders Barcelona by eight points and cannot afford to slip up again. Not that Sunday’s woes should have a direct impact on this game; the best remedy for Madrid right now would be a positive result in London.

Since their visit to Madrid, Spurs have experienced the heady rush of humiliating Liverpool 4-1 to losing both of their last two games but the bare minimum. A second string Tottenham side were dumped out of the EFL Carabao Cup by city rivals West Ham and this weekend, Manchester United employed ultra-direct, route 1 tactics to squeeze a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. Harry Kane missed that game with a hamstring injury but he should be fit to return against Madrid.

A win for either team tonight would assure their place in the Last 16 regardless of how the other game in Group H, between Borussia Dortmund and APOEL, turns out.

Tottenham team news

Dele Alli watched his team from the Bernabéu stands but he is back from suspension and firing on all cylinders. Harry Kane has been absent since the 4-1 trouncing of Liverpool but returned to training on Tuesday and is believed to be over his fitness worries. Pochettino is confident Kane will feature but didn’t want to confirm 100% on the eve of the game and told reporters, “We have one more day to assess him but today he was good in training”. Midfielder Victor Wanyama is back training but won’t be risked; Erik Lamela is available again after overcoming a long-term hip injury.

Man to watch: Dele Alli. Whether Pochettino goes with Harry Kane or Fernando Llorente up front, Madrid will have to contend with the livewire Dele Alli. Now back from after serving a three-match ban, Alli is raring to go and Spurs are stronger and more of a threat when he’s on the pitch. He’s behind Harry Kane as the team’s second top scorer on five goals and is just as adept at setting them up for his team mates as he is at putting them away himself.

Real Madrid team news

Zidane’s team looked off-colour against Girona. Cristiano Ronaldo was increasingly frustrated by his fortunes in front of goal and their back four was turned inside out trying to deal with attacks coming in from both flanks. Apart from Kiko Casilla taking over from Keylor Navas, Zidane fielded the same XI which entertained Tottenham on MatchDay 3, and employed the same 4-3-3 system, only this time, Casemiro and Kroos were left unable to drop back as they were already tracking two players each in a four-man Girona midfield. Madrid haven’t been helped by injuries and centre-back Raphaël Varane picked up a hamstring injury in Girona which means he is doubt. Zidane will be without Keylor Navas, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal and Mateo Kovacic. Isco took a knock at the Motilivi and didn’t train with the group on Monday but is in the squad and should be declared fit to play. Under-19s keeper Moha Ramos has been recalled as Kiko Casilla’s deputy.

Man to watch: Marcelo. Had a howler against Girona but we think he’s allowed an off day. The Brazilian left-back keeps getting better and better with each season and now he’s completely in his element. He can take command out on the left and allow Cristiano to drift into more central positions; Marcelo has an unlimited array of skills to call on and so often supplies the killer ball in for Madrid or go it alone and score himself. He’ll be back to his best on Wednesday without a doubt.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid live online: betting odds

Tottenham are at 25/1 to score the game’s only goal in the opening 45 minutes. Real Madrid are at 11/1 to sneak a 0-1 win with Cristiano Ronaldo at 3/1 to stroke home the decisive goal. More adventurous odds are offered for dark horse Toni Kroos to be the last goal scorer of the game at 18/1 – bookies have a 3-3 draw at 33/1.

Bet on Tottenham Hotspur v Real Madrid in the Champions League now