Real Madrid 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: 3 reasons why Los Blancos lost the match

#3 Overall, Tottenham were the better team

Tottenham showed great teamwork

Throughout history, Real Madrid have made a name for themselves as a side that achieves immense success without any discernible teamwork, rather focusing on getting the best individualistic performers and putting them together.

It is a method which has worked for them overtime, so this is not an attempt to disparage their style.

By contrast, Tottenham's success in recent years has not been impacted by any star player, but by a close-knit squad with team spirit who have fully imbibed the playing pattern of their manager.

This was evident in full glare against Real Madrid, as the progression of the match highlighted the differences in their patterns.

Whereas Real Madrid struggled to show cohesion and team balance, Tottenham were very much the superior side, dictating the tempo of the game and getting Real Madrid to play on their terms.

They were totally dominant almost from start to finish, with their only lax period coming in the first 15 minutes of the second half which was understandable given the flurry of changes that had been made at the break.

Tottenham bossed Real Madrid in almost all departments, leading their Spanish counterparts in shots on target (9 to 2), possession (53% to 47%), total passes (519 to 462) and pass accuracy (89% to 88%).

Overall, Tottenham were the better team than Real Madrid and the end result was a fair reflection of the match (although Spurs could have gotten some more goals).