Lloris brilliance saves Tottenham in Leverkusen
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Article summary
While Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed the better of the first half, Bayer Leverkusen were on top after the break and might have won the Group E game but for a wonder save by Hugo Lloris.
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Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur shared the points after a tight, tense stalemate at the BayArena in UEFA Champions League Group E.
The English side dominated the first half, coming closest to an opening goal shortly before the interval when Vincent Janssen hit the bar from close range. Bernd Leno subsequently produced a fantastic save to deny Erik Lamela from the follow-up.
Roles were reversed in the second period, however, with Leverkusen taking control and Hugo Lloris forced into a fine, sprawling stop from Javier Hernández. The hosts looked more likely to score as the game wore on, but ultimately nothing could separate the teams, who meet again at Wembley in a fortnight.
Key player: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
The France No1 kept his side in the contest in the face of Leverkusen's sustained second-half pressure. His save after the interval from Hernández almost defied belief.
Leverkusen regret
Just when Leverkusen seemed to have mastered the art of defending in Europe, they failed to score at home for the first time since last season's play-off first leg, when they lost 1-0 to Lazio. To be fair to the hosts, they went mightily close to breaking the deadlock through Hernández, while Charles Aránguiz and Admir Mehmedi both elicited fine stops from Lloris.
Tottenham satisfied
While Spurs may feel they deserved more from the first half on the balance of play, Leverkusen can certainly say the same about the second period. A draw was – all in all – a fair result, and a point the north Londoners will gratefully accept. Mauricio Pochettino's men have two home games and will therefore remain confident of progress from the tightest of groups.
Reporters' views
Matthew Howarth, Leverkusen (@UEFAcomMattH)
With tricky trips to Wembley and Moscow still to come, Roger Schmidt and his players will view this as two points dropped. We are only halfway through the group stage, admittedly, but Leverkusen will need to do something about their road form if they are to reach the round of 16 – they have not won away from the BayArena in the UEFA Champions League since November 2014.
Daniel Thacker (@UEFAcomDanielT)
With two matches in London to look forward to, Tottenham will welcome this point and the fact their fate remains in their own hands. There were signs of promise in an excellent first half from Pochettino's charges, but the worry for the coach will be how his side faded after the restart and allowed the hosts back into the game.