Tottenham Hotspur took on Borussia Dortmund at the Wembley Stadium earlier tonight looking to earn a positive result in front of their home supporters. Spurs began the match on the offensive and created some good opportunities in the opposition half. However, the away side looked threatening on the counter. Both teams fought hard but couldn’t open the goalscoring in the first half.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men began the second half with a bang as they scored the opening goal of the contest through Heung-min Son’s finish from close range. The North London outfit managed to grab the decisive second goal in the 82nd minute when Jan Vertonghen scored with a well-placed strike.
However, Spurs were not done yet as they managed to find the back of the net once again via Fernando Llorente’s header to secure a comfortable 3-0 victory on the night. Dortmund will now have a mountain to climb in the return leg at Signal Iduna Park next month.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 8/10
The French keeper made a couple of outstanding saves during the game and managed to keep a valuable clean sheet on the night.
CB: Juan Foyth – 5.5/10
He made a massive error at the back in the first half and was fortunate that Christian Pulisic couldn’t take advantage of his mistake. However, Foyth recovered well and put in a far matured performance in the second half.
CB: Davinson Sánchez – 6/10
The Colombian centre-back looked a bit shaky at the heart of the Tottenham defence and found it difficult coping with the threat of Jadon Sancho in the first half. However, to his credit, he did manage to keep a shut-out during the game which will please Pochettino.
CB: Toby Alderweireld – 7.5/10
The Belgian international commanded the Spurs backline and made some crucial interceptions during the contest.
RM: Serge Aurier – 7/10
The Frenchman got cautioned early in the game. However, he did well to perform his defensive duties without making any major errors at the back. Aurier was also a decent outlet down the right flank and put in some dangerous crosses from the wide areas.
CM: Moussa Sissoko – 7/10
He covered a lot of ground and was always willing to close down the Dortmund midfielders. The French talent was outstanding in the second half as he bossed the midfield which gave his teammates an ideal platform to go and snatch a convincing win for the home team.
CM: Harry Winks – 6/10
The English prospect lacked creativity in midfield but he more than made up for it through his desire and commitment to battle for every loose ball in midfield.
LM: Jan Vertonghen – 9/10
The Belgian defender was deployed as a makeshift wing-back, but the gamble paid off for Pochettino as Vertonghen pulled off a man of the match display against Dortmund tonight. He was exceptional down the left flank and whipped in some telling crosses from the left.
The Spurs talent also got his name on the scoresheet with a composed finish in the 82nd minute.
CAM: Christian Eriksen – 5/10
The Danish midfielder squandered a couple of good opportunities to score. He was a frustrated figure throughout the match as things were not coming off for him in the opposition half.
ST: Heung-Min Son – 8.5/10
Another brilliant display from the South-Korean international! He was Pochettino’s biggest weapon going forward. Son proved his worth once again by scoring the opening goal of the contest early in the second half.
ST: Lucas Moura – 6/10
The Brazilian speedster linked up with Son quite effectively in the attacking end of the pitch. However, he lacked the cutting edge inside the Dortmund penalty box.
Substitutes:
ST: Fernando Llorente – 8/10
The Spaniard came off the bench to score with a fearless header.
CAM: Erik Lamela – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
CM: Victor Wanyama – N/A
He came on to run the clock down for Spurs.
