London - After the grid-iron, the gridlock and another example of Wembley’s imposing presence stifling the flow of the round-ball game.
It often seems to happen. England can be turgid when underneath the arch and 85 000 pairs of eyes, and Tottenham again found it heavy going on a pitch still bearing evidence of the logos from Sunday’s NFL extravaganza.
In fairness to the national stadium, Spurs have not been much more fluent at White Hart Lane recently. Or anywhere else, for that matter. They are not at the level they were last season and Bayer Leverkusen deserved their win.
Progress is stalling for Mauricio Pochettino as the challenges become trickier. They are now six games without a win since beating Manchester City at the start of last month.
When goals are so scarce, a slice of misfortune can be costly and, although they were solid for most of the game, Kevin Kampl’s goal in the second half has left them with a struggle if they are to reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Tottenham trail Monaco and Leverkusen in Group E, with a trip to Monaco next followed by the final group fixture against CSKA Moscow at home. Except it does not feel like home.
There was another club record crowd to celebrate, but it is two games and two defeats at this venue and they cannot rely on a victory here against the Russians.
Pochettino (right) had urged his players to trust Wembley and let the place inspire them. He played for Argentina in a goalless draw against England at the old stadium, coming off the bench in the first half to replace Roberto Sensini, who had been struggling to cope with Emile Heskey.
Spurs, however, did not take immediately to their hired home. They were beaten 2-1 by Monaco in September, their only defeat of the season until last week’s EFL Cup exit at Liverpool and a rare display when they were vulnerable at the back.
Pochettino’s team returned from away games in Moscow and Leverkusen with a creditable four points but he knew the Wembley riddle had to be cracked. They will be here next season for all games.
Moussa Sissoko, mid-ban in domestic football, returned to the team and Son Heung-min started up front against his former team. Vincent Janssen dropped to the bench. Harry Kane is fit again after an ankle injury and is expected back to face Arsenal on Sunday.
Goals have proved elusive in Kane’s absence and wins are hard to find without goals.
In Leverkusen, Spurs were grateful for the brilliance of Hugo Lloris in goal and the Germans opened with intensity here at Wembley.
They disrupted Tottenham’s laborious attempts to build from the back, with former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez making life uncomfortable for the centre halves with his mobility and explosions of pace.
While they resisted, Spurs created very little, lacking punch going forward. Son’s golden patch of form seems to be losing its glow and Christian Eriksen has not been the creative force he can be.
The only cause for alarm in the Leverkusen area was a slip by goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who fumbled a cross from Sissoko before the mess was tidied up.
Losing Mousa Dembele after half an hour was a troubling development for Pochettino. Dembele is vital for Tottenham in transition and his ban and subsequent injury problems have been central to the team’s lack of fluency this season.
He stopped for a long chat with his manager on the touchline and went deep into a discussion with the medical team. But Janssen went on, the team reshuffled and immediately enjoyed their best spell of the game.
Eriksen unleashed a drive from distance which forced a save from Leno and Son was more productive on the wing.
But two minutes before half-time Spurs were lucky to escape after a mistake by Kyle Walker.
Julian Brandt stole the ball from Walker and moved into the penalty area. A sliding block by Jan Vertonghen halted Brandt’s progress but the rebound rolled kindly for Hernandez, well set in the centre of goal.
The Mexican took aim and pulled a right-footed shot low towards the bottom corner of goal only for it to catch Vertonghen, still outstretched on the turf, on a heel and swerve narrowly wide of the goal.
Hernandez must have suffered flashbacks to the BayArena a fortnight previously, when he could not convert any of several chances which came his way.
Dele Alli fired the ball into the net in the final seconds of the first half, causing the crowd to roar, but they did not realise referee Jonas Eriksson had blown for a foul by Janssen.
Tottenham wanted a penalty early in the second half when Alli went to ground under a challenge from Omer Toprak.
To the naked eye it looked a foul, but Swede Eriksson, the referee who once managed to ruffle the usually unrufflable Manuel Pellegrini, thought otherwise and the slow-motion replays cast doubt.
Alli was looking for a touch and he found it, although there was an element of the Spurs midfielder wrapping his left foot around Toprak’s lower leg to create the contact.
Eriksson was unmoved again when Jonathan Tah grabbed a handful of Janssen’s shirt.
With an hour gone, the game started to loosen up. Walker stormed forward and fired wide, while Lloris continued to frustrate Hernandez.
Sixty-five minutes had gone when the Germans went ahead. A hopeful long-range effort from Charles Aranguiz was partially blocked by Ben Davies and spun into the goalmouth.
Kampl was first to react, turning the ball past Lloris from six yards.
Daily Mail