Spurs crush Real to make European claim
Experts call Tottenham real deal after Pochettino’s men showcase their best game versus Madrid
With their swashbuckling 3- 1 dismantling of Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase, Tottenham Hotspur announced themselves as European heavyweights.
The most consistently impressive team in England over the past two years, Spurs had the misfortune of running into the Leicester City miracle in 2015-16 and a Chelsea juggernaut in 2016-17.
This season they trail Manchester City by eight points, but Wednesday’ s stunning display at Wembley let Europe know — as England already knew — that Mauricio Pochettino’s side are a force to be reckoned with.
“This is a great manager, with great, young, ambitious players,” former Arsenal striker Ian Wright told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“They’re not fly-by-night players. They look like the real deal. They hammered Real and it’s a team still with a lot more to give .”
A performance built on asphyxiating pressing and relentless attacking, Wednesday’ s win--which took Spurs into the last 16— showcased the best of Pochettino’s team.
Dele Alli stole the show with two goals and although Harry Kane, for once, failed to find the target, it was his perfectly weighted pass that setup Christian Erik sen for Spurs’ third goal.
In condemning Madrid to their heaviest group-stage loss in nine years, Spurs called to mind the swaggering performances of their last Champions League campaign of note.
‘GOT TO BELIEVE’
The only other time they have reached the latter stages occurred in the 1961-62 season, when a team managed by the great Bill Nicholson reached the semi finals before falling to eventual champions Benfica.
But despite their lack of continental pedigree, Kane believes the victory over Madrid shows they can go all the way. “Definitely, why not? We’re not going to get too ahead of ourselves, but we’ve got to believe,” said the England striker. “I think everyone doubted us at the start of the group stage but for us, of course you’ve got to believe.”
It is a bold claim for a club who have won only one major trophy -- the 2008 League Cup-- since the turn of the century, but it is in tune with Pochetti no’s thinking.
“We need to understand that we are at a level where we are playing fantastic against the best teams and to get to the next level, we have to win things,” he said.
“Rightnow, we’re very proud. But this means nothing if at the end of the season we haven’t won a trophy.”