Top of the group no less! So 4 points from the next three matches sees us through. A draw away to Dortmund would do as well so long as Apoel doesn’t win out.
I am guessing he was more on for stiffening up the midfield rather than his offense. how'd Modric do?
great effort....no parking the bus. odd lineup, but it worked. we got extremely lucky with the Lloris save. but we had two chances near the end of the game to win it.
Tonight was the game when Harry Winks really arrived. Not man of the match or anything particularly fancy, but he was up for this game against the very best - time to stop thinking of him as a promising youngster, but a fully fledged member of the first team setup and a genuine player in his own right. I worship the ground that Dembele floats over, but in his absence we've got ourselves one hell of a midfielder instead.
Missed the first half, and the last 10 minutes or so... Winks looked like he belonged. Kane looked like "Real who?" Lloris looked like a wall (in the 2nd half). From the 2nd half, Spurs earned this. And what is this "if Spurs beat..." stuff? Believe people, belief.
Even if Dortmund were to win their next two and we were to lose our next two, they'd still be level with us on points. They play away at Real on the final match day while we're at home vs APOEL which means effectively, we're in control of our own destiny as of today. Oh and one more thing: Arsenal wouldn't have gotten a result at the Bernabeu.
Set up my brand new 49" TV, put the kids to bed and watched the game in peace while sipping on a tangerine San Pellegrino "soda" as you Yanks would say... Fantastic European match, an anti-Mourinho display of football to be savoured. To get a draw against that lot is mighty impressive, all of their players are excellent on the ball and make the game look ridiculously easy. It is easy to forget just how good Modric is and how fortunate we were to have him for 4 seasons. I remember Arsène Whinger saying when we signed him that he would never be any good... I think Aurier must have got a rocket from Poch at half-time because he was much better in the 2nd half. Love the idea of playing Llorente and Kane together with a back 3, we should do that more often. And Danny-Boy made his return! Now we just need Dembélé and Wanyama back and we could do some serious damage.
Not so fast, it would depend on the score of the game in Dortmund. If they were to beat us 2-0 or 3-0, they would hold the tie-breaker (in CL it is head-to-head results including away goals). Assuming in your scenario that Real beat APOEL, the standings going into the final day would be: RM 13 pts Dortmund 7 pts Spurs 7 pts APOEL 1 pt If Dortmund were to win at Real, we would be out on the tie-breaker. If we get a point from the next 2 games, we would go through with a win vs APOEL. If we happen to get that point at Dortmund, we are through. If we were to lose by one goal in Dortmund or by 4-2 or 5-3, we would hold the tie-breaker on away goals. If we lose 3-1 then it would come down to goal difference. Here is the simple explanation from Uefa: Article 17 Equality of points – group stage 17.01 If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied in the order given to determine their rankings: a. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question; b. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question; c. higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question; d. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question; e. if, after having applied criteria a) to d), teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to d) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria f) to l) apply; f. superior goal difference in all group matches; g. higher number of goals scored in all group matches; h. higher number of away goals scored in all group matches; i. higher number of wins in all group matches; j. higher number of away wins in all group matches; k. lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points); l. higher club coefficient (see Annex D).
that's a good point - Spurs got that result with several key players inactive (or in Rose case, only available for a short stint) Dembele, Wanyama, Rose, Alli all normal starters, Davies & Lamela also would get a lot of minutes if available
That's why I said "effectively." I don't think Dortmund's defence is good enough to stop Real which makes them extremely unlikely to get a result. Even if they were to beat us 5-0, I would still say we hold the advantage.
What did you guys make of Llorente’s performance? I was underwhelmed initially but many people say he did a lot to free up Harry
I have not really seen the guy play much before, so I don't know how his performance compares with what he has done in the past with other teams. But I will say that it is still a team sport, and the tactical change worked well in this match. I think it's great that we have the personnel to do some different things, and maybe MP can be more flexible / unpredictable. It seems like too many teams have figured out that they can put 11 guys behind the ball, hope for 0-0, and it has a decent chance of working. Or maybe MP just started him because he knew he wouldn't be freaked out by playing in the Bernabeu - who knows at this point? He does seem like a quality player, though.