Monaco spoil Wembley party with Tottenham win
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
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The vast majority of the 85,011 crowd at Wembley were left disappointed as goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar helped Monaco to a 2-1 Group E win against Tottenham.
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Two goals in the opening 31 minutes laid the foundations for Monaco to beat Tottenham, though they had to quell a second-half onslaught to triumph 2-1 at Wembley.
Spurs began purposefully but were rocked when Bernardo Silva hammered in a drive off the far upright from a Monaco counterattack on 15 minutes. Thomas Lemar, a fifth-minute substitute for Nabil Dirar, then doubled the lead after Djibril Sidibé's cross fell fortuitously for him.
Tottenham secured a foothold when Toby Alderweireld thumped in a header from Erik Lamela's corner on the stroke of half-time and lay siege to the visitors' goal after the restart. The French side, with Lemar a menace on the break, held firm to claim the points in front of the highest English club home attendance in UEFA Champions League history.
Key player: Bernardo Silva (Monaco)
The young Portuguese attacker was effervescent in the opening period, his goal due reward for a fine display. Constantly an outlet for his team-mates when under pressure in the second half, Silva's direct running, intelligent pressing and composure in possession caused the hosts all manner of problems.
Jardim's perfect tactics
Monaco's game plan worked to perfection at Wembley. Leonardo Jardim's side grabbed the two early goals they needed and then defended resiliently for almost the entirety of the second 45. Kamil Glik and Andrea Raggi were excellent at the back for the visitors, whose streetwise tactics ensured they made the perfect start in Group E.
Reporter's view
Daniel Thacker, Tottenham (@UEFAcomDanielT)
While there were plenty of positives for Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs to take from their second-half showing, the reality is that this is not the opening to their UEFA Champions League campaign that Tottenham would have wished for. The hosts' defensive lapses in concentration before the interval cost them dear.