Strange sensation: Zidane ‘Wembley venue not to blame for Tottenham loss’
Real Madrid manager laments side’s insipid display that saw them narrowly escape defeat with a late equaliser
LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino said his Tottenham Hotspur players must take a hard look in the mirror rather than blame unfamiliar Wembley Stadium surroundings for a second “embarrassing” home Champions League defeat on Wednesday.
A 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen means Tottenham have been beaten in both Group E games at their cavernous adopted home and their hopes of reaching the last 16 hang by a thread.
Kevin Kampl’s second-half goal punished Tottenham for a shoddy display bereft of spark and took the north London’s club losing streak at the national stadium to six matches stretching back to a League Cup victory over Chelsea in 2008.
Pochettino, however, said there was no point regretting the club’s decision to shift Champions League home games to Wembley from their White Hart Lane ground which has a reduced capacity because of building work.
“Tell me a place that’s better to play than here?,” Pochettino, whose side lost 2-1 to Monaco in their opening group game, told reporters. “It’s impossible to find another ground better than Wembley.
“We don’t have the freedom to play and show real quality. After two games at Wembley, both have been poor. It is not an excuse, it is the truth.
“The problem is here inside us. The problem is not Wembley. We had 85,000 people here supporting us and it’s shame. It’s embarrassing for me. We need to show more.”
LEICESTER MADE
TO WAIT AFTER DRAW COPENHAGEN: Leicester City missed the chance to book an early spot in the Champions League’s knockout stages as they survived some nervy moments to secure a goalless draw with FC Copenhagen in Group G on Wednesday.
Monaco 3 Germain 12 Falcao 29, 41
Tottenham 0 Bale 1 Benzema 35 Kovacic 85
CSKA Moscow 0
Leverkusen 1 Kampl 65
Dortmund 1 Sporting Lisbon 0 Ramos 12
Copenhagen 0
Porto 1 Silva 37
Juventus 1 Higuain 14-pen
Sevilla 4 Vietto 31 Escudero 66 Nzonzi 80 Yedder 87
Leicester 0 Club Brugge 0
Lyon 1 Tolisso 85
Dinamo Zagreb 0
Having won their previous three group games, the Premier League champions stood on the brink of reaching the last 16, but Copenhagen denied them the victory they needed, while improving their own qualification hopes.
The Danish side’s only previous loss in 27 competitive games was a 1-0 reverse to Leicester in their Champions League clash two weeks ago, and on several occasions they threatened to take all three points on home turf.