Dele Alli gave Tottenham the lead against Real Madrid in their Champions League group stage match at Wembley on Wednesday.
Tottenham fans could be forgiven for feeling a little uneasy when the Champions League draw put them in a group along with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. After their struggles in the tournament last season, there was a legitimate fear Spurs might not make it out of the group.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been vastly improved in this season’s competition, however, beating Dortmund in their first match and earning an impressive draw against Real at the Bernabeu last time out, with a few key players missing through injury.
With top spot on the line — the two clubs were level on points heading into the game — Tottenham started Wednesday’s rematch with Madrid very well, defending effectively and showing flashes of quality on the break. They eventually took the lead in the 27th minute, when Dele Alli poked in Kieran Trippier’s cross at the back post.
Dele Alli is making the most of his return from suspension!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 1, 2017
He puts Tottenham up 1-0 on Real Madrid. https://t.co/lzaWfskb6p
The goal was just rewards for Tottenham’s performance in the first half, and piled the misery on a Real side that have endured a difficult start to the season, and came into the match on the back of a loss against lowly Girona in La Liga.
Zinedine Zidane’s side won a record-breaking second-straight Champions League title last season, and looked like heavy favorites in La Liga after a summer of turmoil for their main rivals, Barcelona.
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But they find themselves eight points behind the Catalans in La Liga and may have to settle for a second-place finish in their Champions League group. Then again, they had to settle for a second-place finish last season, too, and that didn’t slow them down in the knockout rounds.