Slick Spurs turn on the power to floor Dortmund
TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino hailed his Champions League heroes last night after Borussia Dortmund were swept aside at Wembley.
Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente were on target in the 3-0 victory which greatly smoothes their path into the quarter-finals.
“We have a lot of talented players,” said Pochettino, who was without injured talisman Harry Kane as well as Dele Alli. “We have an unbelievable squad. I am happy with all the players. The only problem is that we can only play 11 and not 22.
“It was a fantastic second half when we played with more confidence but there is still work to do.”
TOTTENHAM put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after a thrilling second-half performance saw them beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the last-16 first leg at Wembley.
Spurs were second best in the first half, but put that right after the break as goals from Son Heung-min (below), Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente swung the tie firmly in their favour.
It will take some capitulation in Dortmund on March 5 for them not to make it through to the last eight, on a night when Harry Kane and Dele Alli should be back in the fold.
Son continued his leading role in the influential duo’s absence as he scored his 11th goal in his last 12 games early in the second half and his love affair with playing Dortmund continued as that was the ninth time he has scored against them in 11 games.
Vertonghen, who was playing at left wingback, capped a man-ofthe-match performance with a second goal in the 83rd minute and then three minutes later Llorente gave Spurs vital breathing space by nodding home from a corner with his first touch of the game. It was the club’s first win in a home knockout tie in the Champions League and by keeping a clean sheet it means the Bundesliga leaders have to score at least four goals in the second leg to have any chance of progressing.
Thrilled boss Mauricio Pochettino said: “It was a fantastic second half. The first half was difficult. It was a difficult game from the beginning. It was difficult to find what the best position was in both directions.
“When we had the ball we struggled to play in the way we wanted to play. The team started to feel comfortable, then we scored. And afterwards we played with more confidence.”
Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen admitted it was a special night. “They looked very strong and had the better of the game but in the second half we were able to turn it around,” he said.
“They dropped off a bit then that early goal in the second half helped. We had the confidence to keep going.
“It was (my first goal) since the first game this season and I had to wait for goal line technology then so I was happy that I could just go (to celebrate this time)!
“It was at Wembley too in the Champions League so it was special. It was one of those nights.
“We were able to keep them quiet in the second half and they weren’t able to be clinical. The game changed in the second half definitely.”
Son added: “Jan Vertonghen is technically unbelievable and can play in any position. I am very happy for him, he deserved it.
“One goal and an assist! The timing of the first goal was very important, the cross was unreal, I didn’t have to do anything, just touch the ball.
“It’s not finished, we have to focus on the second game too. Harry or Dele are very important for us but we have players who can come in and do well. We showed that, Fernando came on too and scored an important goal.”
Borussia Dortmund forward and England international Jadon Sancho felt his side lost focus.
“I don’t have any words for the second half,” he said.
“We tried our best but they scored and were the better team.
“In the first half we played really well. We dropped a bit and lost focus. We need to keep focused for the whole game.
“Jan Vertonghen is a good player but hopefully next time we can handle it better.
“We will keep believing we can score more than them and hopefully we can get through.”
It did not start off so well for Spurs as after Lucas Moura came within inches of putting them ahead with an instinctive volley which whistled past the far post, Dortmund began to take control.
BVB, with the help of some shoddy defending, began to pick holes in their hosts’ defence and forced Hugo Lloris into two saves.
First Juan Foyth was criminally caught in possession by Chelsea-bound Christian Pulisic, whose low shot from an acute angle was kept out by Lloris’ leg, and then the Frenchman’s handling was tested by Axel Witsel’s effort.
Lloris made another stop to deny Thomas Delaney after more lax defending, this time by Davinson Sanchez, before the Frenchman saved his best for the final few seconds of the first half to ensure it stayed goalless.
Dortmund worked a twoon-one at a corner and Sancho crossed invitingly for Dan-Axel Zagadou, but he could not connect with his header properly and Lloris was able to claw it away with millimetres to spare.
And that save proved crucial as Spurs went ahead just 67 seconds into the second half.
Vertonghen won possession back high up the pitch and, after being given the ball back, sent in a pinpoint cross that evaded Zagadou for Son to cushion home a first-time volley.
He could have been celebrating a second not long after had Christian Eriksen not been uncharacteristically careless when racing clear down the left.
Eriksen is the king of assists for Spurs, but for some reason chose to lift a cross in when rolling the ball across the face of goal would have left Son with a tap-in.
This was a different Spurs side compared to the first half as Dortmund struggled to create anything by way of danger.
And two goals in the final 10 minutes put Spurs on the brink of the last eight.
Vertonghen got a goal his industrious performance on the left deserved as after more high pressing won the ball back, Serge Aurier floated in a delicious cross that the Belgian rammed home.
Wembley was still rocking three minutes later when Llorente made it 3-0 as he nodded home a corner with his first touch of the game.
Spurs closed out the game, knowing they can travel to Dortmund in three weeks with the job virtually done.