Match report: Spurs 2-0 Dortmund
It was a contender for shock result of the season. Nobody had given Tottenham any hope after Saturday’s Premier League disaster here against West Ham, one which had come coated in vitriol for Thomas Frank. The fans had demanded his immediate removal as the manager only for him to stagger on.
The execution was stayed. But here were Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga’s second-placed team, who had lost only three games all season, to apply the final cut. Frank could see the bones in his resources – 13 players unavailable, only 11 established outfielders from which to select.
And yet Spurs rebelled. Frank rebelled and when it was over, he could reflect on taking a huge step towards direct qualification into the Champions League’s last 16. It was a fourth home win out of four in the competition – and a fourth clean sheet.
Thomas Frank's reaction
I’m very happy that we won the game for various reasons – mainly that it was a good performance, especially first half. I liked how we started the game: front foot, aggressive, positive. We scored two good goals and kept a clean sheet as well.
I’d have loved us to keep the ball a bit better in the second half, but we haven’t won as much as we’d want to, especially at home, so it was important to get it over the line.
The fans were absolutely great, and they were really behind the team, so I’m very happy with that. The atmosphere and the energy really transmitted to the players.
We need to bring this win and this performance to Burnley [at the weekend]. It’d be amazing to finish in the top eight [in the Champions League] – we’ll focus on Burnley first and then think about that.
[On Xavi Simons’ performance] First and foremost there were many good bits. I liked his mentality to push through and play with pain. I liked his determination and focus, and I think he had some decisive actions.
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Dominic Solanke’s reaction
I’d have preferred it to be a bit cleaner but a goal’s a goal! I got to enjoy watching go in in slow motion. It’s been a long time so to be back out here and get the win, it meant the world.
The Champions League is the biggest club competition in the world, so to get my first goal in it… that’s something you dream about all the time.
We’ve done quite well in the Champions League. We know we haven’t been good enough in the Premier League but something like this can give us an extra boost to go on and improve.
When we’re all together – players, staff, fans – that’s key. We’ve got quite a few games coming up so we need to get ready.
Spurs are fourth in the Champions League, and keeping some pretty good company.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 7 | 18 | 21 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 7 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 11 | 15 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 | PSG | 7 | 10 | 13 |
Full time: Spurs 2-0 Dortmund
Spurs’ impressive Champions League campaign continues with a comfortable victory over 10-man Dortmund. Xavi Simons had probably his best game for the club, inspiring a fine first-half performance from Spurs both before and after Daniel Svensson’s red card.
Cristiano Romero and Dominic Solanke put Spurs 2-0 up at the break. And though the second half was more even, Dortmund never really threatened to get back into the game.
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90+4 min Chukwuemeka tries his luck from 25 yards. High, wide and hopeless.
90+2 min Spurs break three on one from a Dortmund corner. Simons plays a perfectly weighted ball through to Porro, who farts around inexplicably and allows Can to get back. Eventually Porro loses the ball and his footing at the same time.
90+1 min Vicario makes his first save of the night. It’s a pretty good one, too: he leaps to fingertip Schlotterbeck’s header over the bar.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
88 min Spurs have won only two of their 11 home games in the Premier League. In the Champions League, by contrast, they’ve been perfect: 1-0, 4-0, 3-0 and now 2-0*.
86 min Ryerson is booked for a poor tackle on Gray. Romero charges over to get involved and protect his young teammate. “It’s not like him,” deadpans Ally McCoist on commentary.
85 min Romero lets a pass from Udogie run under his feet and behind for a corner. Ryerson whips it in, Schlotterbeck heads across goal – I think he was going for goal – and the ball flashes past everyone in the six-yard box.
84 min For all Dortmund’s second-half improvement, Vicario still hasn’t had a save to make all night.
82 min Spurs’ last game is away to Eintracht Frankfurt a week tomorrow. We can’t say for sure at this stage but a draw in that game might be enough for them to finish in the top eight.
78 min: Chance for Spurs! Simons, who may never have played better for Spurs, slips another fine through ball to release Kolo Muani, whose shot from the edge of the area is blocked by the left foot of Kobel.
77 min Kolo Muani surges into the area and tries to twist away from the last man Anton. He stands his ground, Kolo Muani hits the deck and play continues.
76 min: Dortmund substitution Max Beier comes on for Yan Couto.
74 min Porro’s deep, outswinging corner is met by the unmarked Romero, whose header flies just wide. It appeared to brush either the post or the fingertips of Kobel; either way, a goalkick was given.
74 min “I think randomness is probably the best explanation for the wild disparity between Spurs domestic and continental results, especially as the other English teams don’t overperform in Europe,” writes Kári Tulinius. “That said, my harebrained notion is that the bad vibes at Tottenham are having a galvanising effect on the players. They want out, so they give their all on the biggest stage, hoping to entice buyers.”
73 min Udogie finds Simons near the penalty spot. He dances around the defence, away from goal, and then blasts a shot that is turned round the near post by Kobel.
72 min It’s getting a bit edgy. If Dortmund make it 2-1, all bets are off.
71 min: Spurs substitution Randal Kolo Muani comes on for Dominic Solanke, who has put a shift in on his return to the starting XI.
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68 min Yan Couto’s cross bounces off the unsighted Fabio Silva and through to Vicario. Spurs need to be careful; they’ve been a bit passive since half-time.
65 min: Double substitution for Dortmund Fabio Silva and Carney Chukwuemeka on, Karim Adeyemi and Felix Nmecha off.
63 min: Spurs substitution Jun’Ai Byfield, 17, comes on for his Tottenham Hotspur debut. Lucas Bergvall walks gingerly from the field.
62 min Anton shoots wide from 25 yards after a half decent Dortmund attack. They’ve been much better in the second half.
61 min “I’ve been a Spurs fan for about 50 years and I’m having a lot of trouble understanding what’s going on at the club right now,” says Jim Denvir. “Why are the performances in the Champions League so much better than in domestic competitions? Is it down to expectations? Atmosphere at the ground? Any ideas?”
Off the top of my outsized head, this is all I’ve got.
Some of their opponents are weaker.
Sometimes these illogical trends perpetuate themselves – for example, when a dreadful Man Utd side won the FA Cup in 1989-90, they played every match away from Old Trafford. But in the league their away form was largely abysmal.
Football is a funny old game.
60 min It’s hosing down at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium now. Dortmund’s fans are still making most of the noise.
It looks like Lucas Bergvall may have to come off through injury. Spurs are without almost an entire matchday squad of senior players.
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59 min Solanke accidentally stands on the foot of Schlotterbeck, who goes down and needs a bit of treatment.
57 min “It might be the final straw for Spurs fans,” writes Sean Orlowicz, “if the board backs Frank on the basis of his European performances.”
Arf. I know you’re joking, but imagine such a thing!
54 min Simons grimaces after shooting over from 25 yards. He set himself up nicely by walking past the other No7, Jobe Bellingham, but then got under his shot.
53 min A reminder that you can follow all the other Champions League action, including Internazionale v Arsenal and Kylian Mbappe v Monaco, with Will Unwin Esq.
52 min A Dortmund goal would enliven the evening, particularly for students of grown men soili the human condition. They’ve been better since the break but Spurs remain in control.
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50 min Ryerson curls the free-kick a few yards wide of the left-hand post. Vicario didn’t move. It looked really close live, not quite as close on the replay from behind the goal.
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48 min Dortmund have started the second half well and Nmecha has just been fouled 20 yards from goal by Bergvall. This is a chance.
46 min Dortmund begin the second half having made two substitutions: Emre Can and Julian Ryerson are on for Serhou Guirassy and Julian Brandt. File under damage limitation (or an inspired, counter-intuitive double change).
Half-time reading
Half time: Spurs 2-0 Dortmund
He’s getting backed in the morning. Okay, maybe not, but that was a brilliant half for Thomas Frank and Spurs. Cristian Romero put them in front with a striker’s finish, Dortmund’s Daniel Svensson was sent off and Dominic Solanke made it two with a defender’s finish.
The red card has the potential to be a red herring: Spurs were much the better team when it was 11 v 11.
45 min Three minutes of added time.
44 min Dortmund have had one touch in the Spurs penalty area. Funny old game.
42 min A marvellous piece of control from Porro leads to a shot from Odobert that is held to his right by Kobel.
39 min Almost a third for Spurs. A cross is half cleared and breaks to Simons, who belts the bouncing ball into orbit.
The finish was lucky but the move was superb. Odobert played a smooth give-and-go with Porro before sliding a first-time cross into the middle. It was slightly behind Solanke, who tried to flick the ball behind his standing left leg and into the net. Instead it hit his standing leg, rebounded back onto his right ankle and then rolled slowly into the net. He played a one-two with himself!
It’s Solanke’s first Champions League goal. And though the finish was fortuitous, his movement was textbook.
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GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Dortmund (Solanke 37)
Dominic Solanke, making his first start of the season, puts Spurs 2-0 up!
36 min Spence lashes a volley over the bar from the left side of the area. Spurs are well on top and should be looking to put this game to bed before half-time. If it stays 1-0, Dortmund will surely come into the match in the second half.
If Spurs can extend their lead to 3-0, against 10 men, it’ll be game o- oh.
34 min Dortmund have offered very little going forward, with 10 men or 11. Thomas Frank must be thrilled with Spurs’ performance – and exasperated that they haven’t played like this more often this season.
30 min No idea whether he feels more comfortable playing against German opposition, as he did at Leipzig for two seasons before joining Spurs, but Xavi Simons has been superb tonight.
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28 min A fabulous inswinging cross from Simons just evades the stretching Porro at the far post.
As things stand – I know, I know – Spurs are fifth in the Champions League and heading straight through to the last 16.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 7 | 16 | 19 |
| 2 | PSG | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 11 | 15 |
| 4 | Real Madrid | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 7 | 14 |
26 min: Svensson is sent off!
The referee is sent to the monitor and Daniel Svensson is on his way. It wasn’t malicious but he caught Odobert high on the shin with his studs. It was a bad tackle.
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25 min Daniel Svensson is booked – but he may be eligible for a VAR upgrade. It was a poor tackle on Odobert, studs landing jut below the knee.
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23 min This is a really fun game. Spence beats Yan Couto agian and cuts the ball back to Solanke. His shot is blocked, as is Porro’s follow-up.
21 min Gray plays the ball back to Vicario, who is pressured by Guirassy and almost makes a monumental Horlicks of the situation. After miscontrolling the ball, he has just enough time to turn and boot it away.
20 min Kobel’s kick downfield threatens to put Adeyemi through on goal, with Vicario in no man’s land. Adeyemi tries to twist outside the last defender but leaves the ball behind.
20 min No penalty, check complete.
20 min The check is ongoing. Spence and a Dortmund player went ionto a block tackle, after which the ball ricocheted towards Bellingham right on the edge of the area. Did it hit his hand? Was it inside the area? I DON’T KNOW.
19 min Odobert beats Svensson with a stepover and cuts the ball back to SImons, whose shot deflects behind off Bellingham. There’s also a VAR check for a Spurs penalty apparently.
17 min Spurs have had 64 per cent possession; this isn’t a reactive performance. They’ve been terrific.
15 min The reason Odobert got a second bite at the cherry was because Brandt turned his back on the ball when Odobert shaped to volley.
Porro’s corner was headed up in the air by Guirassy and looped towards Odobert near the edge of the area. He miskicked a volley but got lucky when the ball fell nicely for him to hammer a low cross into the middle. Romero, eight yards out, calmly turned it into the net. That’s a smart finish because the ball was slightly behind him.
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GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Borussia Dortmund (Romero 14)
The Spurs captain Cristian Romero opens the scoring!
13 min Spurs have started well. Spence, who looks lively on the left wing, runs at Yan Couto to win a corner. Porro comes across to take it…
8 min This is a good spell for Spurs. Simons plays a lovely delayed pass inside Svensson to release Porro, whose low cross is kicked away at the near post by Schlotterbeck.
6 min A good break from Spurs. Spence plays the ball down the right to Odobert, who tries to find Simons in front of goal with an early low cross. There isn’t quite enough pace on the ball and Svensson stretches to slide it past his own keeper and behind for a corner.
4 min Dortmund have made the more confident start, and their supporters are making a terrific racket. When did English crowds become so inferior on the European stage?
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3 min Adeyemi has an early run at Udogie in the area; Udogie gets between Adeyemi and the ball and sees the danger out.
1 min Peep peep! Spurs kick off from right to left as we watch.
The only player on a yellow card is the Spurs substitute Randal Kolo Muani.
The players emerge from the tunnel. It’s hard to make out the atmosphere because the Champions League music is blaring out around the ground.
Thomas Frank's pre-match thoughts
We have good memories from the Champions League; we’ve done well in a lot of games. We have an opportunity against Dortmund tonight and we’re looking forward to it.
It’s good to have Dom [Solanke] in the team. His experience and what he gives the team on and off the pitch is crucial, with his communication. Really looking forward to having him in there tonight.
[On the lack of match sharpness in some Spurs players] There’s a difference when you have played five games on the bounce. But sometimes football is mental. Are you strong? You just push through it and there will be no problem.
Dortmund are a very good team. We need to close down their front three, but on the flip side there are opportunities the other way.
And Will Unwin is in the one and only Clockwatch seat, with Inter v Arsenal and Real Madrid v Monaco on the agenda.
Manchester City are having a miserable trim in Nordland. You can get the latest from their match against Bodø/Glimt with Barry Glendenning.
This, by David Squires on Spurs and Thomas Frank, is too good
Team news
Thomas Frank makes five changes, four of them enforced, to the team that lost against West Ham. Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Djed Spence and Dominic Solanke replace Micky van de Van (suspended), Ben Davies (injured), Conor Gallagher, Mathys Tel (both ineligible) and Randal Kolo Muani.
With Spurs down to the bare bones, either Djed Spence or Destiny Udogie will start as a wide attacker.
Dortmund, who beat St Pauli 3-2 on Saturday, make three changes. Ramy Bensebaini, Yan Couto and Serhou Guirassy come in for Emre Can, Julian Ryerson and Fabio Silva.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Vicario; Porro, Romero, Danso, Udogie; Gray, Bergvall; Odobert, Simons, Spence; Solanke.
Subs: Kinsky, Kolo Muani, Austin, Scarlett, Olusesi, Thompson, Hardy, Byfield, Williams-Barnett, Akhamrich, Rowswell.
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-2-1) Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Yan Couto, Bellingham, Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Brandt; Guirassy.
Subs: Beier, Duranville, Chukwuemeka, Fabio Silva, Can, Sule, Ryerson, Anselmino, Ostrzinski, Meyer, Mane.
Referee Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Borussia Dortmund are the best of the rest in Germany. They’re second in the Bundesliga, just 11 points behind Bayern Munich, and like Spurs they have taken 11 points from their six Champions League games. Dortmund are above Spurs on goals scored.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Liverpool | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 6 | 7 | 10 |
Thomas Frank has insisted the Tottenham hierarchy are standing with him in the face of the storm gripping the club.
The manager’s job is in the balance, his situation precarious after the home defeat against West Ham on Saturday. The Spurs support were so incensed by the result and the continuation of the team’s terrible Premier League form – they have won twice in their past 13 league matches – that they demanded Frank be “sacked in the morning”.
Frank has survived, for now, and will be in the dugout for the Champions League tie at home against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether it proves to be merely a stay of execution. Frank has a selection crisis for the Dortmund clash, with only 11 available outfield players – three of whom he said would struggle to complete the 90 minutes. His back is firmly against the wall.
Preamble
Spurs’ Champions League campaign is going swimmingly. They’ve picked up 11 points from six games and are on course for a playoff place, perhaps even an automatic passage to the last 16. Alas, as Ange Postecoglou found out, progress in Europe does not keep the wolf from the door, or the boos from the shell-like, and there is widespread expectation that Thomas Frank will be the next Premier League manager to lose his job.
Frank has been forced to carry the entirely imaginary Dead Man Walking Stick™ after a run of two wins in 15 domestic matches. At the weekend Spurs were beaten by West Ham, extending an unfathomably poor home record – at least in the Premier League.
In the Champions League, Spurs’ home form has been perfect: three games, three wins, eight goals scored, none conceded. Tonight’s opponents, Borussia Dortmund, are a step up from Villarreal, FC Copenhagen and Slavia Prague. Spurs could do with a good performance, but all that really matters is the result.
Kick off 8pm.
