Champions League: Real Madrid 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Champions League’s Tottenham from last year and this year is completely different. Last season the club finished third in the group and got reversed to Europa League where it failed at the round of 32. So far this season the is up to a very favorable start with 7 points in after the first three games. Most importantly they developed a very attractive football and could have gone home with the three points from Madrid. Both coaches share thier views on the tight contest:
Mario Pochettino – coach Tottenham:
“Always I tell the players it’s a game to enjoy – play, run, feel free, try to play because (when) you play in that level it’s our dream, always, from when we started three years ago, to play in the Champions League, against Real Madrid and in the Bernabeu. Football is about enjoying.
Being brave is so important. If you want to win and if you want to increase your level, learn and improve, it’s so important to be brave. Of course, when you play you must keep your identity and compete. In the Champions League last season that disappointed us that we didn’t compete but in these three games (against Borussia Dortmund, APOEL and Real Madrid) I think the team is more mature and we don’t just play, we compete and that is most important.
We are on seven points with Real Madrid. It’s fantastic. Our challenge is to reach the next stage and we are happy with the result. I’m very happy for our fans, for our team and the squad. I’m so, so happy.”
Zinedine Zidane – coach Real Madrid
“We can’t be pleased with the result because you always want to win your home games. I think that we had the chances, particularly in the first half, but there were two top goalkeepers out there tonight in Keylor and Lloris and you’ve got to accept that the goalkeepers are there to prevent you from scoring. There’s no need to analyse it any greater detail. We performed well and ultimately the draw is a fair result.
“Both goalkeepers intervened to deny the opposition on three or four clear-cut openings and that comes as no surprise to me. Lloris put in the sort of performance he needed to and that was a shame for us, what with us carving out a number of chances. We put a point on the board and it’s a fair result overall. Every game is tough, especially when you come up against sides that defend very well, as was the case tonight. Things become increasingly difficult when you win because the standards you set are ever higher and the opposition will always put in 250%. We’ve also got the game at their place to come and we’ll try and take the three points at Wembley”
