Tottenham Match Report: 1-1 at Real Madrid

Tottenham secured an invaluable point away at Real Madrid in what was slated to be the most difficult match of their Champions League group stage run.

Though the balance of play shifted heavily toward the hosts, this was a credible performance at all levels of play for Tottenham.

Real dominated possession, took nearly twice as many shots and spent long periods of the match camped in Spurs’ third. Yet beyond a shot off the goalframe in the 5th minute and a penalty kick just before half-time, they looked perplexed as to how to break through Hugo Lloris’ goal.

What’s more, Real’s top heavy nature repeatedly allowed Tottenham chances on the break in the opposite direction.

It was in one such foray into Real’s half that Serge Aurier’s cross came close to finding Harry Kane, only instead to deflect off of Raphael Varane and into the host’s net.

The goal was both against the run of play and also somehow inevitable. While Real’s chances were frequent but haphazard, Spurs were establishing a rhythm to get the ball and players forward in those rare instances possession was reclaimed.

The crux of that effort came in the center of midfield. With either Kane or Fernando Llorente dropping deep, Spurs found ways to consistently outnumber Real’s vaunted midfield trio. This made it significantly easier for Harry Winks to play quarterback just in front of the defense.

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Distribution has long been the talent that set Winks’ apart from his other teammates in midfield. Mauricio Pochettino’s gameplan doesn’t often take full advantage of it however, at least not to the extent that it did on Tuesday.

It was Winks’ grace under pressure that began the break that ended in Varane’s own goal. Overall on the night, he would complete more passes, more accurately than any other Tottenham player.

Tottenham’s lead would only last another 15 minutes after Aurier — the same man who made the match’s opening goal — fouled Toni Kroos in the area and thus earned Real a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo would subsequently convert with ease past Lloris.

The scoreline again even, neither side deemed it necessary to make any changes after the interval. Real continued to confidently work its way forward, and Spurs capably kept them at bay — thanks in part to some phenomenal saves fro Lloris.

In truth, the match needed to find another gear if either side wanted to secure the winning goal. Real waited until the 76th minute to withdraw a mostly wasteful Karim Benzema and replace him with youngster Marco Asensio. The change did little to change the tempo of the match though, and Asensio managed just one shot during his time on the pitch.

Tottenham grew into the game in the final 20 minutes. Llorente set Kane up for a shot that only stayed out of Real’s goal by the grace of Keylor Navas’ fingertips. Eriksen would come close just two minutes later.

Both of those chances came at the end of quick transitions against a Real defense that was clearly getting winded. While Llorente had a fine game, Spurs could have gained a significant advantage if they brought on Heung-min Son sooner than the 89th minute.

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Pochettino opted instead for safety, bringing on Danny Rose for his first appearance since January. Rather than lining up at left-back though, Rose added a body to midfield that was, in theory, capable of getting forward when his wasn’t crowding Real’s chances from the center of the pitch.

No one will think to question Pochettino’s caution here though. A draw away at Real Madrid is an exceptional result, one that few supporters would have expected when groups were drawn back in August.