KANE CRACKS THE CURSE
Tottenham’s Wembley woe is over as Harry and Son seal victory
Mauricio Pochettino knew the importance of this game. in champions League Group H, this was Tottenham’s cup final.
So it was fitting to win it at Wembley. if all goes as expected from here, Pochettino will be anticipating that a draw in Dortmund in late November should as good as see Tottenham into the last 16.
Here is how Mystic Mauricio believes it will unfold. European champions real Madrid will win the group — maybe six victories in six, or thereabouts. aPoEL Nicosia are the weakest link, played six, lost six in all likelihood, goodbye. Tottenham go there next, later this month and will be disappointed if they do not win. Eventually, if results fall as predicted, it will leave Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund duking it out for the second qualifying place.
So, according to manager Pochettino’s workings, victory in the home leg between the teams was essential, if Tottenham were not to need to go to Germany and win.
and Tottenham did it. against a weakened Dortmund side — and, yes, Tottenham were without Dele alli, but the Germans’ absentees ran close to double figures — and with a side helping of good fortune via an unjustly disallowed Dortmund goal, but Tottenham pulled it off in Europe at last.
They were out of the competition by the time they won a champions League game at Wembley last season, but this was a very creditable display. The one downer was Jan Vertonghen’s late sending off for a forearm swung at Mario Gotze. it was reckless and unnecessary but should only keep him out of the aPoEL game, when he is unlikely to be missed. He should be back for real Madrid when all hands will need to be on the defensive deck.
one result does not a turning point make, but at least Tottenham will stop associating Wembley with misfortune after this. Those that believe in fate — and Wembley has made Tottenham fans increasingly open to talk of jinxes in recent weeks — may view three minutes in the second-half as the moment their luck changed.
in that time, Dortmund had a good goal disallowed, while Tottenham put the game beyond them with a third. of course, with a two-goal margin of victory, one goal unjustly chalked off does not alter the outcome — but the timing was significant. Dortmund should have been level, instead they were 3-1 down. Games turn on the tiniest margins. This was a canyonsized one, all things considered.
When Pierre-Emerick aubam- eyang swept Mahmoud Dahoud’s cross into the net on 57 minutes, Dortmund should have been level, 2-2. instead the goal was extinguished by an erroneous linesman’s flag. There were Dortmund players offside, yes, but none that touched the ball. aubameyang, meanwhile, had timed his run perfectly from an onside position. The stooge official on the by-line did nothing, either. another triumph for the lousy ideas factory that was former uEFa president Michel Platini.
Dortmund were still smarting when Tottenham put clear air between these sides. a lovely interchange of passes ended with christian Eriksen feeding Harry Kane and his shot went through the legs of defender Lukasz Piszczek and past underwhelming goalkeeper roman Burki. it was Kane’s second of the night, and his sixth in his last four games, his form now adding to the mystery that surrounds those blank augusts.
Yet, while taking nothing away from Tottenham, it is hard to imagine there has been a better time to play Dortmund.
a list of the injured was almost a team sheet in itself: Marco reus, andre Schurrle, Julian Weigl, Erik Durm, raphael Guerreiro, Marcel Schmelzer, Marc Bartra and Sebastian rode. in addition Neven Subotic fell sick and was fit only for the substitutes’ bench.
When Tottenham took the lead after four minutes, it seemed as if the match could become as close as a team could get to a comfortable evening against Dortmund.
Yet Peter Bosz’s team is not leading the Bundesliga without reason and a single goal lead at half-time for Tottenham, plus inferior possession statistics, told its own story. Dortmund, even at half strength, are not exactly feeble.
in players like andriy Yarmolenko, aubameyang and christian Pulisic, they have some of the finest performers in Europe. Tottenham were never allowed to settle and it wasn’t just Wembley, either. Dortmund would be a danger in any arena. They played high and stuck to it, admirably, but it makes them vulnerable. Tottenham hit them on the break and Dortmund h have no l last t lineli of fd defencef i in Burki, defeated twice at his near post in the opening 15 minutes.
The first goal had echoes of Gareth Bale against inter Milan. The same directness down the left flank, the same pace and singlepurpose. Kane fed the ball to Son Hueng-min and he was away, Dortmund shirts struggling gamely to keep pace, along the wing and inside towards goal where Burki tried to narrow his angle. No matter. Son shot powerfully into the roof of the net, the ball near Burki but not vice-versa. it was a stunning start and the locals rejoiced accordingly. But not for long. Dortmund’s equaliser took just seven minutes to come and it was wonderful, a one-two, played by Yarmolenko to former Manchester united midfielder Shinji Kagawa, getting the ball back on the edge of the area in what did not appear a dangerous position. Yarmolenko changed that perception with a curling shot past Hugo Lloris.
Yet Dortmund’s style makes for open encounters and in the spirit of the occasion, they let Tottenham bite back within four minutes. This was a dismal defensive effort all round, not just soft from Burki in goal, but weak throughout, Kane enjoying a momentary reign of terror on the left. First, he shrugged off the attention of Piszczek, turning him near the halfway line. Nuri Sahin came across to cover but did even worse, falling to the floor in a heap, claiming Kane had pulled him down. There was contact but nothing that should have had such an effect on a man who occupies the heart of midfield.
Bosz was apoplectic on the touchline, but should have directed his ire at the weakness of his player. Kane was away, with only Burki to beat and he knew where to put it. Same place as Son: near post, near Burki, near perfect. He is in magnificent nick now, by the way.