The German club were beaten 3-0 by the extremely successful new-comers to the competition, Tottenham Hotspurs. Wednesday night saw the Spurs book their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, along with Europe heavy weights Manchester
United, Spanish champions Barcelona and Champions League title defenders Inter Milan.
Other teams who won last night include Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Rubin Kazan, Schalke and Valencia. The Spurs now hold the top position in their Group A, a place above Benitez’s Inter-Milan, which places them on the same level as giants Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea,
Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Redknapp’s team have fared enormously well in the competition so far, much to their fans’ delight. They have managed to beat title defenders Inter-Milan and FC Twente this season. Before the Champions League season, most critics had written off Tottenham’s
chances of performing well in the fixtures, let alone progressing to the next level.
The Spurs certainly proved their worth by opening the score sheet at only six minutes. Redknapp’s team have not scored less than three goals in their Champions League games at home this season, and Spurs fans would have been anticipating a second and eventual
third. Younes Kaboul found the net after a spectacular volley from Luca Modric in the 45th minute and Peter Crouch in the 70th.
Tottenham could have had four goals on the score sheet if Bale’s penalty kick had not been saved by Tim Weise in the 53rd minute. Two minutes earlier, the Welsh international had sent the ball crashing against the bar during a free kick which
was awarded to Lennon after being challenged by Sebastian Prodl. The penalty was awarded to Modric after the referee believed he was fouled by new comer Felix Kroos. The final goal by Crouch, stemmed from Bale’s shot, which collided with the bar once again,
but Lennon saved it from a rebound and the English striker was happy to put the final nail in Bremen’s coffin, 11 eleven minutes before the final whistle.
After the match, striker Peter Crouch praised his peers’ performance, describing it as a convincing display of Tottenham’s competency,
“It was a great team performance throughout the Champions League campaign: we have played very well and deserve to go through.”
Redknapp remembered the time when the draw was conducted and groups were announced, and recollected his players’ thoughts on how they assumed their group was a tough one. The Spurs’ boss now claims that his side want to cement their position as group leaders,
confidently stating “We want to win it [the group], you want that top spot if you can get it.” The North London team have their last match against FC Twente next in the competition on Tuesday, 7 December.
Reports have emerged now that Tottenham’s man of the moment, Gareth Bale had been nominated for the FIFA World XI, and is one of the 17 players to receive this honour from the English Premier League. FIFA selects the winners from a short-list of fifty-five
players’ names. The voting is done by fifty thousand footballers who are part of players’ unions around the world. The secret vote will determine the four best defenders, three midfielders, three strikers and goalkeeper.
The Guardian reports that England have six players on the list: Chelsea’s Ashley Cole, John Terry and Frank Lampard, Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard from Liverpool.
World Cup winners Spain, see ten of their players on the fifty-five man list. Bale is the only Tottenham player and the only Welsh international to have his name featured on the list, which is quite an achievement for the 21-year-old.
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