I picked a 3-1 scoreline.
The Harry Kane team will take a commanding three nil lead to Germany in three weeks time, after beating the German league leaders Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Who knows the second leg might see Harry actually feature, a little run out to get him back up to speed.
People were certainly underestimating Spurs at half-time. They went in at the break level but with a feeling that they were getting away with it. Another pretty poor first half display, with Dortmund having the chances while Spurs gifted them the ball and only method of stopping the visitors being fouls. Got away with a few of them as well.
We should know. We should all know by now.
Not for the first time this season, this year, Pochettino shifted things during the break and it was all different in the second half. It was all a lot better.
First half they couldn’t keep hold of the ball and they couldn’t keep up with the Dortmund players. Sancho was looking the real deal with the choice of Vertonghen at left back looking to be the wrong choice. As I said in a previous post about the Newcastle game it made sense with them flat back tenning it Jan’s lack of real pace was irrelevant. Up against a speedy winger in a team that are interested in playing, it’s different.
Two minutes into the second half you see why managers have tried to shift Vertonghen into the left back role, that he’s determined not to play. His crossing is far more accurate than Spurs’ two out and out left-backs, Rose and Davies.
Vertonghen put a cracking cross in for, well you know who, yup, Son the scorer of important goals, the scorer of the first goal – here – the scorer of equalisers the scorer of winners – which this technically was. All he had to do was put his foot on it and cushion it home.
Son has assumed the mantle of the go to man in the absence of Harry and Dele. He’s relishing it, certainly not shirking or bottling it.
So with Vertonghen pushed on a bit more all of a sudden Sancho was no where to be seen, eventually being shifted into the middle. Saying that City selling the 17 year old Sancho for £8m while they were pursuing and eventually buying Mahrez for £60m shows what a blight City have become. Cheque Book Pep.
I tweeted earlier about how Vertoghen had the pace of continental drift. Well he showed a clean pair of heels on the 83rd minute to get on the end of Aurier’s cross and fire in his second goal of the season.
From being a dodgy choice in the first half the Belgian had just cemented his position as man of the match. It was a glorious goal. SuperJan.
Just after Llorente came off the bench and shortly after scored the third. Eriksen finally missing the first defender with a set-piece, a corner, and the Spaniard scored his first from the bench for the club.
Keeping a clean sheet thanks to some excellent saves by Hugo it means that one goal for Spurs in the away leg and all of a sudden Dortmund have to score 5 to go through. This was a cracking night for Spurs, one of the big European nights. Might have been a bit dodgy in the first 45 but mastered them in the second. A game of two halves you might say…