Tottenham Hotspur recorded one of their most famous victories on Wednesday night.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side secured qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a stunning 3-1 win over Real Madrid at Wembley. Spurs subjected the European Champions to their first loss in the group stages since 2012 and did it with a midfield of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko. Dele Alli scored twice and Christian Eriksen wrapped up the three points in the second half, before Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a goal back for Madrid.
In the UK, attention has been focused on the excellent performance of Spurs. While in Spain, the press have been heavily critical of the poor showing by Zinedine Zidane’s side.
#LaPortada 'Saltan todas las alarmas' #UCL pic.twitter.com/XOxA6BxXqg
— MARCA (@marca) November 1, 2017
Spanish media outlet Marca called Madrid’s display a “debacle”, while AS wrote that it was the worst performance by the team during Zidane’s reign.
Madrid came into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Girona. It would be foolish to write off their chances of retaining the Champions League just yet, but they already look out of contention in La Liga. Madrid are third in the league after 10 games, eight points behind Barcelona, and Zidane has come under pressure for the first time since becoming manager in January 2016.
AS writer Luis Nieto seemed surprised by the quality of Pochettino’s side.
“Tottenham, who in the late forties invented the push and run that fueled English football for decades, has resulted in an unusually tactical team, very grouped, pressure, attentive, willing to find an opportunity in each steal. A team that looked for the Madrid shoes and which can only be undressed with deep balls behind their backs.”
While Harry Kane received a lot of praise in Marca. The England striker didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he set up Eriksen’s goal and impressed the Spanish press. Marca suggested that Real would be wise to try sign Kane, who has been linked with a move to Madrid in recent months.
“Are Real Madrid not looking for a 9? Because after watching Kane, sending any scouts to any part of the world that isn’t Wembley would be a waste of time and money. He’s the man.”
