Tottenham hold Real Madrid to 1-1 draw

Real Madrid's recent problems in front of the goal were once again evident when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Tottenham Hotspurs.

Madrid, on Tuesday, were unable to score from open play and needed a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty to give them a share of the points in a game in which both goalkeepers made important saves, reports Xinhua news agency.

The result leaves both sides on seven points and in a solid position in their group after Borussia Dortmund were only able to draw away to APOEL Nicosia.

The game got off to an entertaining start as Real Madrid, with Tony Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield, looked to take the game to the English side.

Ronaldo headed against the post in just five minutes and Karim Benzema should have scored from the rebound, but put the ball wide.

Tottenham had a good appeal for a penalty turned down after 22 minutes when Casemiro appeared to hook his foot around the ankle of visiting striker, Fernando Llorente following a corner.

But the visitors took the lead in a slightly fortunate fashion in the 27th minute when Serge Aurier's cross was deflected into his own net by Madrid defender Rafael Varene, who was under pressure from Harry Kane.

Isco and Marcelo both went close for Madrid before Aurier undid his good work in Tottenham' s goal with a needless foul on Tony Kroos which allowed Ronaldo to level the scores from the penalty spot three minutes before the break.

The second half saw Madrid give everything as they chased the win and Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris was the hero in the 55th minute with a fine save to deny Benzema's header.

He then pulled off two more saves to deny Ronaldo as Madrid pinned their rivals back, but 18 minutes from time Keylor Navas also pulled off a magnificent save to deny Kane before denying Christian Eriksen.

In the other matches, Manchester City beat Napoli 2-0 after the first 15 minutes on goals by Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus. and Liverpool claimed the top spot in Group E with a 7-0 thrashing of Maribor.

--INS

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