Tottenham 3 Real Madrid 1 match report: Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen stun Champions League holders with Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal just a consolation
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs outplayed Los Blancos in every way to guarantee place in knockout rounds
OH, my. Tottenham Hotspur have arrived.
There is no bigger stage, no better place than Wembley, to play a game of football as seductive, as irresistible, as this.
Tottenham beat the European champions 3-1 under the lights and still had something left in the locker at the end.
Whatever your allegiance, let Spurs have their moment.
At times Mauricio Pochettino’s players looked like they had re-invented the sport.
This was a delicious, decisive victory against one of the best club sides in the history of football.
Dele Alli, back in a Champions League shirt for Spurs after serving a three game suspension, was exceptional.
He scored twice and then played a part in the sweeping move that led to Christian Eriksen drilling their third beyond Kiko Casilla.
This was a special, spine-tingling performance from Spurs.
It is also a win for the purists, the people who come to football’s temple to watch the ball pinged across the surface at supersonic speeds.
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Tottenham did that at bedazzling, bewildering, speeds at times.
Real Madrid, Champions League winners in each of the past two seasons, have run their race.
Tottenham are the big noise after this breathtaking performance against one of European football’s powerhouse.
This is how to play the game, a welcome antidote to the functional, trundling football played by Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Benfica on Tuesday.
It was breathless, a lung-busting performance that squeezed the pips out of a group of players with Real Madrid’s pedigree.
Dele was sensational, leaving last Saturday’s shenanigans - when he told Ashley Young to collect this zimmer frame - behind him.
He made Real look like old men out there.
The humiliation of Casemiro, leaving the midfielder floundering on edge of the penalty area on the way to scoring the second, was mesmerising.
It was Spurs at their magnificent, dreamy best.
They lure you in with their pretty passing patterns and tantalising first touches.
Harry Winks finds players at will, drifting off the shadows in those Real Madrid shirts to keep things ticking over.
This little human dynamo belongs in Tottenham colours now.
He engineered Dele’s goal, the architect behind the move that led to them racing into a first half lead.
It was spell-binding stuff out there when Winks drilled a faded pass that landed at the feet of Kieran Trippier.
Tottenham’s right-back met the challenge, finding Dele inside the six yard box to beat Casillas from close range.
By then it was shaping up to be one of those famous Glory, Glory nights.
The noise inside this stadium was extraordinary, with Tottenham fans belting out the tunes in honour of their goalscorer.
That Dele song - he cost five mil, he’s better than Ozil - so loud that the Arsenal man must have heard it over in Hampstead.
The inhibitions, the restrictions and the lack of ambition that have characterised this club for generations have faded away.
Real Madrid are supposed to come alive in this competition, moving through the gears in the group stage before the annual assault after their winter break.
Zizou and the rest of the gang caught a cold here.
Cristiano Ronaldo, crowned world player of the year again at a glitzy Fifa bash last week, was isolated and frustrated.
The only thing Ronnie won last night was the record for the number of step-overs he could pull off without actually doing anything of note.
Instead the show-boating was left to Spurs.
Jan Vertonghen’s first half recovery tackle on this show-pony, wrapping a boot around the Real Madrid forward had shades of Beckenbauer about it.
Spurs simply had the upper hand in every area of the pitch.
Kane, back in the side after a two-game absence, left Sergio Ramos chewing the Wembley grass every time Spurs went forward.
Ramos, ranked among the finest defenders in the world, will not forget this 90 minute bleep test in a hurry.
Tottenham had the blood pumping here.
This is a huge result, an eye-catching scoreline against one of the best club sides in the history of the European Cup.
Dele scored their second when his effort deflected off Sergio Ramos after 56 minutes.
When that went in, this fixture was only heading one way.
Ronnie was throwing his arms up in the air, on the case of his team-mates after they lost their grip on the game.
They committed too many players forward, allowing Spurs to slice them open in the move that led to the third.
Dele swivelled in his own half, sent his pass out to Kane and Eriksen arrived out on the left to drill a third beyond Casilla.
It was exceptional stuff.
There will be a tinge of frustration that they allowed Ronnie to score because the final ten minutes turned into a nervy affair.
Credit to Spurs because they saw it through, with Hugo Lloris saving expertly from another Ronnie flyer five minutes from time.
They held on, grimly at times, because Real threw everything at them.
Even then, it was not nearly enough.