SPURS STORM BERNABEU IN THRILLER
Lloris produces a masterclass as giants Real are cut down to size
IT was billed as the Harry show but Hugo revealed who’s boss as Spurs proved the Champions League stage suits them.
While Kane – hailed a “complete player” by Zinedine Zidane on the eve of the Group H clash – let a juicy late chance go begging, Lloris pulled off a couple of stunning second-half saves to earn a memorable point.
Mauricio Pochettino claimed it would be like a baptism for his players having lost all seven of his head-to-heads with Real Madrid while in charge of Espanyol and not even managing a goal.
But the Tottenham manager was not intimidated in the least. In fact, he seemed inspired by the occasion.
That went for his players too as Kane pressured Raphael Varane into flicking home a 28th-minute own goal before Cristiano Ronaldo denied them three wins from three.
Kane said: “We are happy. Of course they are going to have chances but we played well and made it tough for them. Hugo pulled off some unbelievable saves.
“A point at the Bernabeu – you would take that every day of the week. It shows how far we have come as a team.
“It puts us in a great position and we play them again in a fortnight. It shows we can handle it at this level and that’s what it is all about.”
One of Lloris’s stops was to deny Ronaldo whose tantrums have not been tempered by age, an early hissy fit following his header against the upright then the waste of a rebound by Karim Benzema.
The dramatics reached fever pitch when Jan Vertonghen made the most of a minor spot of wrestling and Ronaldo was booked.
That might well have been the result of his frustration at seeing Spurs scramble their way in front.
There was nothing scruffy about the build-up as Serge Aurier’s break and cross bursted with threat.
But when Kane’s ambitious attempt at a flicked finish failed, Varane was powerless to stop his limb lifting it past Keylor Navas. Kane’s aggression was controlled and while he might have done better with a header from Christian Eriksen’s corner his determination to win it was impressive.
Despite his early scuffed miss and a headed mistake that had Ronaldo huffing again, Benzema did play a part in the equaliser.
His pass gave Toni Kroos a free charge towards Lloris – until Aurier slid in with typical rashness.
Kroos waited for contact and it was as routine a decision for referee Szymon Marciniak as it was a task for Ronaldo to tuck away the penalty. The 32-year-old’s 10th goal against English opposition in the Champions League lifted Real to levels that verged on the familiar.
Madrid had gone 29 Champions League group games unbeaten before kick-off. It’s now 30 but they could not find a way past an inspired Lloris to force victory.
First Casemiro dug out a cross from the right and Benzema, four yards out with the goal at his mercy, headed against his fellow Frenchman’s leg.
Then Harry Winks overran the ball in midfield, Casemiro fed Ronaldo and as he unleashed a stinging shot Lloris instinctively jumped to push it over. The Spurs keeper said: “It’s a pleasure to share with my team-mates. To play in the Bernabeu was a fantastic feeling.
“We were better in the first half. In the second half they pushed until the end but we had some good chances to score. But at this level it’s a great feeling to get a good draw.”
While the Kane chatter among the locals will hardly be frenzied he did nothing to dampen whatever interest Madrid have.
Not even a miss 20 minutes from time when Navas got a fingertip to his placed effort put a major downer on the 24-year-old talisman’s display.
Kane said: “The header in the first half was a good reaction save and the one in the second half I thought I had done everything right. I opened the body, put it where I wanted it but somehow he finger-tipped it around the post.
“But that’s football. Sometimes that goes for you. He’s made a very good save and we’re happy with a point.”