19  Achraf HAKIMI
  4  Sergio RAMOS (c)
  5  Raphael VARANE  (o.g.)
12  MARCELO

22  ISCO  (17  Lucas VASQUEZ  87)
  8  Toni KROOS
10  Luka MODRIC
14  CASEMIRO

  9  Karim BENZEMA  (20  Marco ASENSIO  76)
  7  Cristiano RONALDO       

Unused subs: 
13  Kiko CASILLA
  6  NACHO
15  Theo HERNANDEZ
18  Marcos LLORENTE
24  Dani CEBALLOS

 

19  Mousa DEMBELE
29  Harry WINKS
17  Moussa SISSOKO (  7  Heung-Min SON 89)
23  Christian ERIKSEN

10  Harry KANE
18  Fernando LLORENTE  (  3  Danny ROSE  80)

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
  2  Kieran TRIPPIER
37  Kyle WALKER-PETERS
21  Juan FOYTH
42  Anthony GEORGIOU
 

Tottenham took to the field with an unusual line-up, with Pochettino playing two up front at the Bernabeu stadium and showing an intent not to try and limit Real Madrid without having any attacking intent themselves.  It produced a performance to remember, as Spurs came away with a point that could have been much more.  It could also have been much less if not for the heroics of Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal, producing three world=class saves to preserve a 1-1 draw.

Four minutes in and Hakimi got up on the right and his first time cross to Marcelo's cross field ball was headed against Hugo's left hand post. The ball dropped around the penalty spot for Benzema, but he put the ball wide with the goal gaping in front of him.  The two players were much involved in Real's performance, but with differing reviews.

Tottenham were comfortable on the ball, but Real looked to move the ball across the field and forward to try and catch out the Spurs defence. Hakimi was finding space on the Real right, with his team-mates looking to play him in every time they got the ball, but the next effort came from Ronaldo coming inside from the right and on his right foot, he scuffed the ball wide of the post on the other side of the goal. After Casemiro had brought down Kane and no free-kick was given, Tottenham won a corner and from it, Kane won a free header running in from the edge of the box. His header went downwards, but straight at Navas, who had the opportunity to push it up and over the bar. From that corner, the ball came back in and Llorente tried to turn on it before seemingly having his foot dragged from under him by Casemiro. Again the ref did not signal for anything and play went on.
Spurs broke away from a Real corner, with Sissoko leading the charge and a pass wide to Eriksen saw him bring it back inside Casemiro, who had a kick at him as he did so, but the game was allowed to go on and it ended up with Winks coming inside to curl a shot, but it didn't come around enough to trouble the goalkeeper.

There was nothing the keeper could do when Sissoko released Aurier on the right and his low ball in was aimed at Kane. He tried to flick it in behind his standing leg, but missed and it spelled trouble for Varane, who knocked the ball past his own keeper to give Spurs a first goal against Real in the fifth meeting with them. It should have been two when Spurs broke again and outnumbered the white shirts, but Eriksen didn't play it sharply enough and the chance was lost. It almost cost Spurs as Isco managed to move the ball enough to shoot, but Lloris got down to parry his blocked effort wide. Marcelo got a loft over the top on the left, but his shot was deflected into the side-netting.

Ronaldo was his usual petulant self, when he took a swipe with his fist at Vertonghen on the floor in the Spurs area, earning himself a booking. Sissoko failed to gather the ball and Marcelo broke, but the move came to nothing, then Modric put a ball in for Benzema, who seemed to bottle going for a diving header, allowing the ball to go just wide of the far post.

Some neat passing when the ball was on the edge of the Spurs box saw Kroos played in and Aurier brought him down when Alderweireld was covering. As expected Ronaldo took the penalty and stuck it in, sending Lloris the wrong way.

The goal before half-time changed the team talk for half-time, as Real started knocking it about a bit more comfortably before the half-time whistle and Ronaldo started to show-boat, but the break came and gave Spurs a chance to re-group.

After the re-start, Lloris played the ball straight out and it led to a period of Real possession, with Modric becoming more influential, but an out ball from the Tottenham defence to Kane saw him run half the pitch and force Varane into conceding a corner. The ball was headed out and when Winks went in to challenge Modric, he looked to have played the ball with the Real midfielder going over his leg to win a free-kick. It was typical of the decisions the home side were getting. A corner when Sanchez saw off Isco didn't touch the Spurs defender and when the ball was worked to the other side of the pitch, a cross came in for Benzema to head with nobody around him. The ball looked to be going in, but Lloris spread himself and his left shin kept the ball out with an outstanding stop. In the next phase of play, the ball was knocked into the box and Ronaldo fired over from an offside position, which he did from an onside position moments later.

Spurs had stopped pressing high up the pitch, with Real doing it to them. It made it hard for Spurs to maintain position and try to get attacks going. Sissoko and Aurier linked well on the right, but his ball across goal when he got beyond the last Real man had not been read by any of his team-mates. .Winks had been playing well, but his run forward was stopped by Isco and the ball was fed to Ronaldo on the right. He took a couple of quick touches and then hammered the ball at goal, only for Lloris to get a strong left hand to it to see it over the top. Soon after, Lloris got behind a deflected Isco shot and then he saved low down when Ronaldo fired an effort in ending a Real break.

Tottenham's final ball wasn't forcing Real to make desperate clearances, so the ease with which they regained possession was a little worrying. But the next chance came when the ball was flicked on to Llorente and his simple pass left to Kane put him in on goal. He slid the ball at goal low to the keeper's left and Navas got the slightest touch to nudge the ball wide of the goal. It was a very good save by a keeper who hadn't had much to do for a while. Then he did it again, when Llorente glanced the ball into Eriksen's path, but Christian went for the near post when he had a clear shot from the right side and Navas pushed it wide for a corner. The corner was poor, but when it came in again, Sanchez won the header and put it down to the ground, but just a yard wide of the mark.

Llorente was linking play well, using his head and a shrewd pass here and there to open up the Real back line. However, it was Madrid who brought Lloris into action again, when Isco shot but his deflected shot was easily taken by our captain. Danny Rose made his return from nine months out injured, replacing Llorente, as Pochettino looked to keep things tight at the back.

With ten minutes left, Spurs started dropping deep and while the game had slowed considerably, Madrid were keen to move the ball into the last third. Marcelo had a shot from outside the box, which Eriksen got a boot to deflecting it wide. But that was the most threat the Spurs goal came under apart from Lloris leaping high to take the corner when it came in.

The roars from the crowd came from the Tottenham section, with many of the Real fans having made their way home long before the end.  The way the Tottenham fans could be heard singing above the home support for much of the game showed how well the team silenced the ardour of the Bernabeu's fans.  With Pochettino playing Llorente up front with Kane, his understanding of playing Spanish football and especially against Real, came in handy, with him doing a good job despite his lack of mobility.  The tactical set-up saw Tottenham have confidence in defence, with numbers to protect them and Harry Winks showed that he is growing in experience if not inches, as he did not look out of place against the internationals in the Madrid midfield.

Kane lead the line in a way that Madrid had been praising him and the Spurs defence held firm, with Aurier the only player responsible for a lapse, when he dived into concede the penalty, but he got his head right for the second half and did a solid job.  But it was Lloris' saves that will be long remembered.  Like Crouch's goal in the San Siro, Hugo's stop from Benzema's header will go down in Tottenham's history.

With Dortmund only getting a draw in Cyprus, Spurs are in prime position to go through from the group, but cannot take anything for granted, so the next matchday, in two weeks at home to Real, will be another one to test themselves.

Peter O'Hanraharahan