Tottenham 1 Monaco 2: Spurs’ Champions League bow at Wembley gets off to disastrous start as French strike early
Toby Alderweireld header not enough as goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar sink Spurs in front of record crowd
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TOTTENHAM fans were left shaking their heads after seeing their side beaten 2-1 by Monaco in the Champions League at Wembley Stadium.
First-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar put the French side firmly in control, although Toby Alderweireld's header minutes before the break offered Spurs a glimpse of hope.
However, despite dominating proceedings in the second 45, Tottenham just could not find a way through Monaco's stubborn defence – much to the frustration of Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs continued to fight until the end, but strikers Harry Kane and Vincent Janssen fell flat in their pursuit of an equaliser.
Tottenham will now be hoping for better fortune when they travel to CSKA Moscow on September 27, and the likes of benched Victor Wanyama will be hoping they won't be overlooked for a second time in Europe's elite competition.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- Spurs may have won 4-0 at Stoke, but Victor Wanyama obviously didn’t impress – the midfielder was the only player axed from that starting line-up with Dele Alli asked to play deeper
- Monaco’s Nabil Dirar was left punching the pitch after he limped off injured just three minutes in after tweaking a muscle WALKING in the six yard box.
- Son Heung-Min bagged a brace at Stoke, and thought he had scored again after eight minutes only to see his effort cleared off the line.
- Monaco had around 300 fans at Wembley, mostly drowned out by the home fans, but they could just about be heard as they celebrated Bernado Silva’s goal.
- Harry Kane escaped with a booking for a lunging tackle on Fabinho in midfield as frustration at going two-down started to get through to the players.
- When Toby Alderweireld scored it was Tottenham’s first Champions League goal in 325 minutes since Peter Crouch netted the winner at AC Milan in February 2011.
- Mauricio Pochettino gave up playing Alli deep at half-time and the midfielder almost made an instant impression with a volley that Danijel Subasic just tipped over.
- Italian ref Gianluca Rocchi booked Fabinho for fouling Alli in the penalty area – but was right not to award a penalty as the Tottenham corner had yet to be taken.
- Radamel Falcao caused a laugh for the fans with a 67th minute header that sailed over and hit a steward on the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.
- Harry Kane still looks out of sorts, lacking composure and confidence as he shot straight at the keeper from ten yards with the goal at his mercy.
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SOCIAL SAYS
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Tottenham: Lloris 5, Walker 5, Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 6, Davies 6, Dier 6 (Sissoko 6), Alli 6, Lamela 7 (Janssen 6), Eriksen 6, Son 6 (Dembele 6), Kane 6
Subs not used: Wanyama, Vorm, Trippier, Carter-Vickers
Booked: Kane
Goal: Alderweireld 45
WHAT THEY SAID
Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld: "Scoring creates momentum and we dominated the game in the second half. We had chances but we couldn't score. We put a lot of energy in but we couldn't force it."
Midfielder Dele Alli: "I'll play wherever the manager wants me to, it's not a problem. We started poorly and they punished us for it. We did enough to win the game but we didn't take our chances.
"Monaco are a good team but we weren't ruthless enough. The fans came out in numbers and never stopped singing. We need to pick ourselves up and win the next game."