5 Truths: Tottenham scared of next season, Lionel Messi may beat Cristiano Ronaldo to 100 UCL goals

He’s repeatedly castigated a Thursday-Sunday schedule. But Mauricio Pochettino understands what an extended run in Europe could do for Tottenham – even if less-than-glamorous destinations like Krasnodar, Qarabag and Osmanlıspor could soon appear on their calendar. After the shambles of their short-lived Champions League adventure, the Argentine couldn’t risk another limp performance. And so it was, despite a month-defining trip to Old Trafford looming at the weekend, that Spurs fielded an imposing side for the visit of CSKA Moscow.

When the 'home' side made their first change on the hour mark, their passage relatively assured, it wasn’t Harry Kane who was replaced but Hueng-min Son. Then it was Victor Wanyama. It was only deep in the 82nd minute, with Spurs 3-1 ahead, that their leading source of goals was finally awarded his exit. It was the correct move. If Spurs are going to avoid ‘doing a West Ham’ next season, they need a run of wins at their temporary home. Otherwise they’ll be cutting the ribbon on their new stadium in 2018 without any European football to shout about.

It should suit Tottenham perfectly: an expansive playing surface that permits full-backs to roam free on the flanks. But Danny Rose and Kyle Walker's freedom has come at a cost. Spurs are slightly easier to tear apart, particularly by clinical opposition in Europe who find the target with unerring accuracy. Last season, Eric Dier slotted alongside Jan Vertonghen and Toby Aderweireld to create a back three - but summer recruit Victor Wanyama, for all his impressive showings, hasn't quite grasped that part.

It's leading to gaps between the defence and midfield – gaps that are not shown up at White Hart Lane. Still, Spurs showed enough in attack – particularly when Dier was pushed into defensive midfield –- to suggest they can make Wembley work.

The big three in Portugal are famous for constantly selling players for big money, normally to English sides, and then replacing them with a fresh crop of young talent. The current group at Porto may not have had too much success on the pitch (they haven't won a trophy since 2013) but based on tonight's evidence most of them can look forward to making a lot of money for their club. Yacine Brahimi, now 26, terrorised the Leicester defenders and could well be due a move in the coming transfer windows.

But all the hype around the game was about Andre Silva, the goal-scoring prodigy who just turned 21. He lived up to the billing with two goals and looked more than a match for Wes Morgan physically. The other star in attack was Jesus Corona, who was direct and took his goal wonderfully.

Porto then brought on Ruben Neves (19), Rui Pedro (18) and the captain Hector Herrera (26), three more who are surely on the radar of English clubs.

The race to become the first player with 100 Champions League goals was Cristiano Ronaldo’s to lose before the start of this season, with the Real Madrid man sitting prettily on a haul of 93, 10 clear of Lionel Messi.

However, the latter netted hat-tricks against Celtic and Manchester City on his way to finishing the group stages with 10 goals to his name. Ronaldo meanwhile, netted just twice in six matches and is now just two goals clear of the Barcelona forward.

And it was not Ronaldo’s night at the Bernabeu, as he had to witness Karim Benzema bag a neatly-taken double before Real then went on to let a two-goal lead slip, as Dortmund fought back to draw 2-2.

Ronaldo missed a sitter with Real leading 2-1, and he later lost the ball while attempting a needless pirouette. It didn’t go down well with the home crowd, but that did not stop Ronaldo from gesturing for them to calm down shortly after. The love-hate relationship continues, it would seem…

With Real Madrid desperate to find an equaliser in last weekend’s clasico, Zinedine Zidane threw on youngsters Mariano Diaz and Marco Asensio. If only they had had a World Cup Golden Boot winner to call on. In fact they did: James Rodriguez. The Colombian has had a tough time of things in Madrid – never more so than when he sat kicking his heels on the bench for 90 minutes during the biggest game of the season, but if the obituaries are starting to be written for his Madrid career, he proved on Wednesday any publication might be premature.

It was a surprise when James started the crucial final group match against Borussia Dortmund – it was only his eighth start in all competitions this season – but he was a lively presence as Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win which put them top of the group, teeing up Karim Benzema for the second goal with a quite sublime cross from the left wing. If he is still capable of producing moments of magic like that, Madrid can still find a use for him.