What a night it was for Tottenham. What a game from Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Harry Winks, Eric Dier — the core of young English players who have taken it to the champions of Europe this season with the confidence of teenagers and not a hint of inferiority.
They thoroughly deserved this. The win, the margin of victory, every accolade that will come their way. Aided by the outstanding Christian Eriksen, who scored their third and set up the second without actually touching the ball, Tottenham took apart the champions of Europe, a team that had not lost in the Champions League group stage since October 24, 2012.
This was a brave and brilliant performance, as impressive as any delivered by an English club in Europe for many years — and Chelsea had already set the bar pretty high against Atletico Madrid.
This was not one of those nights when every swing of the boot was a goal. Indeed, Alli missed arguably his best chance of the match, a free header from another excellent Trippier cross after 78 minutes.
The odd snatched shot aside, though, so much of what Tottenham did was exemplary, not least at the back where Jan Vertonghen tied it all together superbly having lost Toby Alderweireld to a hamstring injury after 24 minutes. The vision of Kane — so much more than just a goalscorer. The sharp, early delivery of Trippier, which put one in mind of no less a wide player than David Beckham. The work-rate, the intelligence. It was all there.
Start with the third goal, because it was so good. A lovely reverse pass from Alli to Kane; a perfectly weighted pass inside from Kane to Eriksen; the coolest of finishes from the Dane clipped with his left foot. And that was it. Real Madrid were done, their executives and club legends staring on in mute disbelief.
Tottenham were just better: hungrier, sharper, smarter. My word, Tottenham really did a job on them. By the end, Cristiano Ronaldo was a study in cold, impotent fury. He wasn’t even in the best 11 players on the field, despite his opportunist, scrappy goal from close range in the 80th minute. Every one of that best XI played for Tottenham.
Alli, naturally, will garner the headlines: two goals saw to that. He was excellent on his return to European football following last season’s suspension.
What a different team Tottenham look in this competition, from then to now. The previous campaign was a bogey. Having pulled what many perceived to be the easiest group of any English entrants, Tottenham came up very short.
A year on, they have gone long. They have scored six goals at Wembley — against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund — drawn at the Bernabeu and qualified with two games to spare.
If two of Wednesday night’s goals had a degree of fortune about them — provider Tripper was offside for the first, Alli’s shot for the second took a deflection — the performance more than compensated. No way was this a fluke.
Every goal showed Tottenham’s quick thinking. The second, after 56 minutes, came about when a fine ball out from the back was read by Eriksen, his dummy working perfectly to set Alli away. He showed great calmness, working his way towards goal before hitting a shot which clipped Sergio Ramos’ thigh and defeated Kiko Casilla at his near post.
Kane was, as ever, the catalyst of so much that was good about Spurs. It was his pass in the 10th minute that began their purple patch. What a beauty it was, too, as good as anything Toni Kroos or Luka Modric could have conjured for Madrid, putting Eriksen in. Alas, Eriksen miscontrolled the ball and a great chance went west.
Soon after came the rehearsal for what would be Tottenham’s opening goal. Again, Kane was at the heart of it with a lovely cross-field pass that found Trippier high on the right. Here is what makes Trippier special. He takes it early. First time, often.
He crosses as Beckham used to, as a first thought, giving the forward in the middle as much time as possible to take his chance. Too many wide players and midfielders want to finesse their work; so many touches, so much delay, looking for the perfect ball. Trippier hit Kane’s pass on the volley, first touch, and Alli in the middle should have been on the end of it. He wasn’t ready. But he’s a quick learner. He didn’t make the mistake the next time.
And there was a next time, 13 minutes later. Winks played a similar pass to the one Kane hit for Trippier, and the wing-back gave it the same treatment, a low first-time cross into the six-yard box. Now, Alli knew what to expect. He made ground and poked it past Casilla. Tottenham had the lead they deserved.
The unsung hero of the goal? Kane. He chased a lost cause of a ball, Jamie Vardy-style, much to the surprise of defender Nacho, who gave away a panicky throw-in. From that, Tottenham built the pressure that cracked Madrid.
English clubs have not always played as beautifully as the best of Spain but some attributes, though earthier, are equally worthwhile.
It was Tottenham’s speed that caused so many problems. Not just down the flanks, but speed of thought and speed in their reactions to loose balls. The only cloud involved Alderweireld. He is a key player and his absence will be felt, but not just yet.
Long after Wembley had emptied, it was impossible to wipe the smile from the faces of Mauricio Pochettino and his players.
Tottenham had the chances to extend their lead but will be full of confidence after dominating the European champions.
