Real Madrid gave their quest for a 10th European Cup crown a major boost when Emmanuel Adebayor netted twice in a 4-0 destruction of 10-man Tottenham Hotspur in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Tottenham are making their debut in the competition, but the London club’s chances of getting any further than the last eight were dealt a big blow when striker Peter Crouch was booked twice inside the first 15 minutes and received a red card.
Real were already 1-0 up after Togo striker Adebayor out-jumped his marker at a fourth-minute corner and sent a powerful downward header goalward that neither keeper Heurelho Gomes or Luka Modric on the line could keep out.
Photo: AFP
Adebayor added a second header in the 57th minute before Angel Di Maria lashed the best goal of the night with a powerful shot into the top corner in the 72nd and Cristiano Ronaldo completed the rout in the closing stages.
Asked if the tie was now effectively over ahead of next week’s second leg at Spurs, Real coach Jose Mourinho said: “Not yet. I know English football well, I know the English mentality and I know White Hart Lane.”
“In another culture I would say ‘yes,’ but with the English culture of football ‘no.’ They have belief until the last minute so it’s not finished yet,” the former Chelsea manager told Sky Sports.
Spurs winger Gareth Bale, returning from injury, was the main threat for the visitors.
The Welsh international dashed on to a long ball on the half hour and left Sergio Ramos in his wake before sending his angled shot into the side netting in what was probably Tottenham’s best chance of the game.
The hosts laid siege to the Spurs goal in the second half and Adebayor, on loan from Manchester City, forced a fine save from Gomes with another header in the 66th minute as Real produced a slew of chances.
Adebayor, who had a spell with Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal before joining City, has now scored 10 times against Spurs and was given a huge ovation when he was replaced by Gonzalo Higuain in the 75th minute.
“It was an impossible task with 10 men,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp told reporters. “You have to have 11 men and be at your best to get a result here. We’re at home next week so we’ll give it a go. It’s not over until it’s over, but we’ve got a mountain to climb.”
The second leg is at White Hart Lane on Wednesday and 2009 winners Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine await in the semi-finals.
Schalke v Inter
Reuters, MILAN, Italy
Holders Inter collapsed to a stunning 5-2 home defeat by a makeshift Schalke 04 team in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at San Siro on Tuesday.
Beaten 3-0 by arch-rivals AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday, Inter failed to build on a first-minute goal against Schalke and finished the match in disarray with 10 men after defender Cristian Chivu was sent off.
Inter looked on course to continue the defense of their title when Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer ran out to head the ball clear and Dejan Stankovic calmly volleyed the ball into the net from just inside his own half.
However, the German side struck back through Joel Matip and although Diego Milito briefly restored Inter’s lead, two goals from Edu, one from Raul and an own goal by Andrea Ranocchia put Schalke in complete control of the tie.
The match had an extraordinary start when Neuer rushed out to head clear Esteban Cambiasso’s long ball forward.
His clearance landed at the feet of Stankovic, who produced an exquisite volley that flew over the bemused goalkeeper and into the goal.
Schalke, 11th in the Bundesliga, leveled in the 17th minute when Kyriakos Papadopoulos’s header was saved by Julio Cesar, but Matip followed up to bury the rebound.
Inter retook the lead in the 34th minute when Wesley Sneijder picked out Cambiasso at the far post and he headed the ball into the path of fellow Argentine Milito, who side-footed his first Champions League goal of the season.
It took only six minutes for Schalke to level again when Alexander Baumjohann sent Edu free down the right and he scored at the second attempt after Julio Cesar once again saved in vain.
Inter made an electric start to the second half, Milito failing to put away a clear chance after he scuttled clear of the Schalke defense and Neuer atoning for his eccentricity with a superb save to deny Samuel Eto’o.
Schalke made the most of their let-off as Spanish striker Raul scored with a trademark finish in the 53rd minute to extend his record as the competition’s leading scorer.
Four minutes later, disaster struck for the Italian side when Jose Manuel Jurado broke down the right and his low cross was turned into his own net by Ranocchia.
Inter completely lost their shape, Chivu was sent off for his second yellow card and Jurado struck the post before Edu added another to spark a mass exodus of Italian fans.
The second leg is in Germany on Wednesday.
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