4 Truths: Is Wembley finally feeling like home for Spurs? A Real chance of incredible hat-trick
ByEurosport
Updated 14/09/2017 at 10:13 GMT
Our writers guide your through four things we learnt from the Champions League matches on Wednesday.
Tottenham end Wembley woe
It was possible to pinpoint the exact moment Tottenham's Wembley curse lifted. The game was only just settling back into its stride following Harry Kane's goal to make it 3-1 when a spine-tingling rendition of 'Oh When The Spurs’ reverberated around the stadium. The fans felt at home. And so, importantly, did the players.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were a counter-attacking menace in the first half, but still didn't quite seem their usual selves. But the second half saw Spurs at their swaggering best, dominating a Dortmund side who appeared shocked by the quality of the opponent they'd come against. The win was important, but Wednesday evening at Wembley was more than that. It was the end of the hoodoo.
Harry Kane ends all doubt: he's world class
Two 'curses’ hung over Tottenham ahead of the 2017-18 season. One was the part-cliche, part fact, 'Spurs can't win at Wembley’. The other was more personal: Harry Kane can't score in August.
And while the Englishman's drought in the summer month extended for at least another year, he helped banish the first with a commanding display in attack. Kane spoke of his desire in the build-up to prove himself a world-class striker; by the time he trudged off the pitch in the dying moments for Fernando Llorente, the ovation showed it was mission accomplished at the first attempt. It wasn't just his goals. Kane's work-rate, springing upon any isolated Dortmund defender, was as good a performance as you'll see from a striker – often finding a team-mate when a hat-trick chance beckoned.
With him in form, Spurs have more than a sniff of reaching the last 16.
Madrid could make it three on the trot
Real Madrid are exceptionally good; currently, there is no clearer truth in football. Their team works perfectly, and it is not at all easy to see who might stop them and how they might be stopped. They can dominate possession, they can devastate on the break; they have power, subtlety and improvisational genius; and they have phenomenal attacking strength in depth.
It seems implausible that in this era any team can win three Champions Leagues in a row, but right now, that is the most compelling reason to back against them. and it’s not very compelling at all.
Moreno's resurgence
Alberto Moreno was almost humiliated in public last season as fans and pundits tore into his abject defensive displays. He played just 18 times and looked set for a hasty exit during the summer. It never materialised and, while the Spaniard remains suspect in and around his own area, he has enjoyed an impressive start to this campaign.
His swashbuckling runs on the left were a feature of Liverpool's first-half dominance against Sevilla and if he can maintain this level of consistency and keep improving in defence, he could yet turn into a valuable asset for the Merseysiders.
Tom Bennett, Ben Snowball, Daniel Harris and Paul Hassall
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