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Kane, Winks, Alli Discuss Tottenham’s Win at Wembley

By Alexander Balano

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur (L) and Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur (R) shake hands after the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and PFC CSKA Moskva at Wembley Stadium on December 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur (L) and Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur (R) shake hands after the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and PFC CSKA Moskva at Wembley Stadium on December 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham’s win over CSKA Moscow now sees the club playing with a lot of confidence and it will continue to improve with performances like last night.

It appears that the third time was indeed the lucky charm for Tottenham at Wembley.

With a spot in the Champions League knockout stage no longer up for grabs after a loss to AS Monaco two weeks ago, reality kicked in that Spurs were the only English team to not advance further in Europe’s elite club competition.

Maybe that disappointment of failing to qualify for the Round of 16 helped fuel Spurs to victory. Playing without any pressure against CSKA Moscow, and only needing at least a draw to advance into the Europa League, may have played a minor role according to Harry Kane.

“It’s hard to say. We moved the ball well today, we found space in behind and the performance was better.” Kane said on Spurs’ official website. “Maybe because both teams were out it took a bit of pressure off but it’s hard to put a finger on it.”

“We knew we had to be better in the other games, we weren’t, but we have to learn from it and it’s good to end with a bit of pride here today.”

With last night’s victory behind Spurs, they have been given one last chance to remain in Europe by way of the Europa League. This is an opportunity for the north London club to make up for their poor showing in the Champions League just as their squad is returning to full health.

With the return of Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld from long absences, to Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli returning to form, Tottenham are regaining their missing pieces that has kept this team stagnant for two months.

Earning a win at Wembley is surely going to build up more confidence and momentum for this team throughout the month of December.

“Definitely! It’s the first time I’ve won here with Tottenham,” Harry Kane said on getting a good win at Wembley for England and now with Spurs.

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“It was important to finish strongly in the Champions League with a win at Wembley and now we can take that momentum into the Europa League when we’re back here in February.”

“It could have been more than three goals but it’s a great result and we’re happy to be in the Europa League now.”

Tottenham’s performance against CSKA Moscow looked very good, though it wasn’t because of any major chances to the team’s strategy or starting lineup. In fact, Harry Winks was the only addition to the starting XI and he said nothing changed.

If anything, it was taking everything that Spurs did right in their 5-0 win over Swansea City when they thoroughly had their way with the Welsh club and doing the exact same things to CSKA.

“There wasn’t a change of mentality as such – we knew we had a job to do and we got it done.” Winks said. “We’re playing with a lot more confidence now, especially after the Swansea win.”

“We took that into the game as well and it was an all-round very good performance today. I thought Harry and Dele were excellent in front of goal but the most important thing is that we got the win and the team collectively was excellent today as well.”

Dele Alli chimed in too, on helping end Spurs’ winless run at Wembley: “It was important for the fans that we got the win and we put the rumours about the Wembley factor to bed.”

“It was nothing to do with that, we just didn’t perform [in previous games] and it was important we showed that we can perform well and got the win.”

“For our confidence, it was important that we got a good victory behind us going into the Europa League and the game on Sunday against [Manchester] United.”

Next: Tottenham Player Ratings: Home vs CSKA

No one may truly know why Tottenham have endured a tough spell when they play at Wembley Stadium, but for this specific squad, it’s obvious that a lack of inexperience is what played a major role in their poor run.

Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged it two weeks but is still positive after the fact, because his team continued to play well from his viewpoint.

After last night’s win, Spurs have every right to believe that they have turned things around when they return here in February for the Europa League and next season when their new stadium is being built.