Vertonghen leads Spurs to Wembley win over Dortmund
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 0
TOTTENHAM put one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals after a thrilling secondhalf 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, 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 where 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 wing-back, capped a man-of-the-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.
■ Derby County missed the chance to enter the Championship’s top six after they were held to a 1-1 draw at bottom-side Ipswich.
Derby needed only two minutes to take the lead with Tom Lawrence scoring against his old club – with the help of a deflection off Jonas Knudsen.
But Ipswich were level 10 minutes into the second half when substitute Jon Nolan fired low into the corner of the net.
Neal Maupay’s stoppage-time goal saw Brentford earn a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
At the other end of the table, Reading moved out of the bottom three – at the expense of Rotherham United – with a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
Reading took the lead when John Swift fired in – their first shot on target after plenty of Blackburn pressure.
Rovers were level when Amari Bell, at fault for the Reading opener, fired home. But it was Reading’s night as Nelson Oliveira won it in style with a powerful shot five minutes from time.
Wigan and Stoke played out a goalless draw.