In case you missed the this week’s Champions League action, here are highlights from three of this week’s 16 matches:
Tottenham Hotspur 3, Inter Milan 1: In the performance of the week, which has made him the talk of European football, 21-year old Welshman Gareth Bale led Spurs to a big victory at home over defending champion Inter. Though he wasn’t involved in Spurs’ first goal (Modric feeding van der Vaart for that one), he singlehandedly created the latter two by streaking down the left wing and feeding perfect, nearly identical low crosses right into the path of the goalscorer (Peter Crouch for the 2nd, Pavylyuchenko for the 3rd (that after Samuel Eto’o had pulled Inter back to 2-1 with a suberb finish).
Here is the Guardian’s “as it happened” commentary on the last goal, to read along as you watch:
GOAL! Spurs 3-1 Inter (Pavlyuchenko 89′) That is just outlandish from Bale! He received the ball around the half-way line and simply belted it 20 yards beyond Maicon and set off after it. He got there first and, best of all, played the perfect pass across the face of goal, inviting Pavlyuchenko to smash it simply past the keeper. Bale has blown Inter away tonight.
Video: CL Highlights: Tottenham/Inter