Keepers rule as Spurs, Real draw... now for Wembley
CRISTIANO RONALDO made it 15 goals in his last eight Champions League games on Tuesday but it was goalkeeper Keylor Navas that the Madrid press were praising after the game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Navas saved brilliantly from Harry Kane in the second half and that ensured Real Madrid took a point. He also saved well from Kane in the first half and from Christian Eriksen in the second period.
If the Costa Rican was Real Madrid’s best player, then Spurs’ finest was also their goalkeeper. French international Hugo Lloris saved at point-blank range in the second half from Karim Benzema.
“Great goalkeepers and a point” was Marca’s front page headline paying tribute to the two shot-stoppers. While Diario AS said: “Both goalkeepers shone” as they lamented Madrid dropping two points at home on their front page.
AS called both Navas and Lloris “heroic” in their match report of the 1-1 draw.
“We always want to keep a clean sheet but sometimes there are situations we cannot control,” said Navas of the one moment when he was beaten when Raphael Varane put past his own keeper in the first half.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane added: “Both goalkeepers played very well, but I am not surprised by that.”
Lloris’ save from Benzema was also put down to the French forward’s miss. Gary Lineker tweeted: “Is it me or is Benzema not a tad over-rated?”
Lloris did not help Benzema’s cause saying post-match: “I got a bit lucky because if he had put the ball more in the corner I would not have saved it.”
But Zidane said: “What Lloris did he only saves it one time in 10 attempts. I am happy with Benzema. Every day he looks better. He scored at the weekend and he could have scored against Tottenham. We have to be patient.”
Less forgiving of the Frenchman’s form was AS. It calculated that Benzema has played 596 minutes of football in all competitions this season scoring just twice from 20 efforts on goal.
In contrast Kane impressed in his first appearance at the Santiago Bernabeu as Tottenham scored their first goal against Real Madrid in five attempts in European competition.
Kane put pressure on Varane as he scored the first half own goal. He would have won the match for his side if not for Navas’ save.
He said: “Fernando Llorente played me a fantastic pass and I controlled it well and got my body shape right but sometimes the goalkeeper just makes a great save.”
Real Madrid and Tottenham both have seven points at the top of Group H with seven goals scored and two conceded.
The two teams meet each other at Wembley in the next round of Champions League matches in the game that will surely decide who tops the group.
l Liverpool must replicate their Champions League finishing to revive their Premier League campaign, winger Mohamed Salah has said.
Salah and striker Roberto Firmino grabbed a brace each as Liverpool pounded Maribor 7-0 on Tuesday.
“I think it’s an important result for us... we have to keep looking forward and we have to win the next games,” the Egypt international told BT Sport. “In the last three or four games we missed many chances... and we had bad luck.”
The 25-year-old has now scored eight goals in 13 appearances for Liverpool. “Seven goals or eight goals doesn’t change anything, but the most important thing for us is to concentrate on improving the results in the Premier League.
“We didn’t win for two, three games, so we need to carry on and keep looking forward and win the next games.”
Eighth-placed Liverpool travel to thirdplaced Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.