David Hytner's report
In the other game in this group, it finished Real Madrid 3-0 Apoel Nicosia thanks to two goals from Him and one from Sergio Ramos. That result shows how important this win was for Tottenham, who were worth the three points in the end. They were outplayed at times by Borussia Dortmund in the first half and were fortunate that the visitors had two goals disallowed, but they had chances and were clinical in front of goal. Harry Kane was exceptional, scoring twice with his left foot, and it’s a performance that will make Tottenham feel very good about their chances of Champions League progression and playing at Wembley. Thanks for reading and emailing. Night!
Full-time: Tottenham 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
That’s your lot!
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90 min+4: Moussa Sissoko charges through, but runs out of steam and shoots wide.
Red card for Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham)!
90 min+2: Jan Vertonghen, shielding possession from Mario Gotze, flings a stray arm into the German’s face, flattening him. He’s immediately shown a second yellow card. It wasn’t nasty and it probably wasn’t intentional, but he hurt Gotze.
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90 min+4: There will be four added minutes.
90 min: Castro picks up a booking for dissent.
88 min: Toljan’s booked.
87 min: Fernando Llorente replaces Harry Kane.
85 min: Sahin shoots well wide from 20 yards.
83 min: Moussa Sissoko replaces Son Heung-Min.
82 min: Pulisic jinks past a challenge on the left, but overhits his cross to Aubameyang at the far post.
80 min: Dan-Axel Zagadou replaces Omer Toprak. Dortmund have used all their subs. Zagadou is involved straight away, doing enough to put Kane off and deny the Tottenham striker a hat-trick after a clever header by Eriksen. Kane’s shot goes wide. It looked like Zagadou got something on it, but a goal-kick’s awarded.
77 min: This would be such a big win for Tottenham. With the best will in the world, it’s doubtful they’ll get anything from their games against Real Madrid. They wouldn’t want to have to go to Dortmund needing to win.
76 min: Kane cuts the ball back from the right to Eriksen, Dortmund caught out by another ball over the top. Eriksen shoots over.
73 min: Tottenham could kill this for good on the break. Kane scoots clear down the right again, but his cross is deflected behind by Toprak. Son was free in the middle. “With the strong comfortable on the ball rampaging centre backs popping up all over the pitch, you have to wonder if poch is reinventing football in his own image,” says Jeremy Dresner. “The CB as superstar could be Tottenham’s key tactical contribution for the ages. Total Defending.”
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72 min: Alderweireld heads over from close range. Gonzalo Castro replaces Mahmoud Dahoud.
71 min: Tottenham proceed to counter at speed, Son breaking through, but his shot’s blocke wide by Toljan.
70 min: A corner to Dortmund on the right. Gotze’s delivery is flicked on to the far post and Aubameyang looks certain to score from close range, only for Lloris to react sharply to save with his feet!
67 min: Burki makes a save!!!!!!!!!!! Davies chests down on the left of the area and aims for the far post. Burki dives down to his left to push it away.
66 min: Mario Gotze replaces Shinji Kagawa.
65 min: A goal for Sergio Ramos and it’s Real Madrid 3-0 Apoel Nicosia.
64 min: “I am banging my head against a wall with this Dortmund defending,” says Ruth Purdue. “How have they not conceded in the league before now? Went through “the press” too easily. I think I care more about defensive mistakes than great attacking play though.”
It doesn’t seem like many teams in the Champions League can defend.
61 min: The way this is going, mind you, it’s unlikely the scoring is over.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (Kane, 60 min)
Tottenham enjoy a spell of possession deep in the Dortmund half. Dembele, who’s been quiet, feeds a pass through to Son. He lays it off to Eriksen. Suddenly Dortmund are open. Eriksen calmly sprays it out to the unmarked Kane on the left. One touch to control, a second to find the far corner with a low shot with his left foot! That’s his second and Tottenham, who were fortunate not to be pegged back a moment or two ago, lead by two goals!
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59 min: Aubameyang wallops the free-kick miles over.
58 min: Vertonghen’s booked for bringing down Yarmolenko from behind.
56 min: Sahin lifts the ball into the Tottenham area from the right. It reaches Aubameyang, who clips an incredible shot into the far corner with his right foot on the half volley, only for the flag to go up for offside! The replay shows that Aubameyang was two yards onside. That is an awful decision. Tottenham have got away with one.
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56 min: Dortmund spring forward. With his back to goal, Aubameyang finds Piszczeck on the right, but Davies blocks his cross.
54 min: Real Madrid lead Apoel Nicosia 2-0 at the Bernabeu. You know who has scored twice.
51 min: Tottenham are trying to exploit the space behind the high Tottenham line again. Now Kane breaks down the right flank, Dortmund all at sea. He has Son in the middle, all alone. He finds him. This is a wonderful opportunity. He checks back on to his right foot, sending the covering Dortmund defender off for a walk around Wembley Way, only to lift his shot over the bar from 18 yards!
50 min: Up the other end Tottenham go and Eriksen slips a pass through to Kane. Toprak and Sokratis have no idea how to play an offside trap or any clue where Kane is. Luckily for them, the striker blazes over.
49 min: Yarmolenko slides a beautiful pass through to Aubameyang, but Lloris is alert enough to charge out and boot clear.
48 min: Play resumes. Toprak has taken his place in the Dortmund defence again. “Brexit was unexpected,” says Alix Sharkey. “Trump was a real shock. But Pochettino’s Tottenham sitting back and hitting on the counter-attack at home? We are definitely living through the end times.”
46 min: Dortmund get the second half underway. But play has to be stopped immediately after Sahin accidentally volleys the ball straight into Toprak’s face. Ouch.
Half-time: Tottenham 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
That was breathless. Spurs lead thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, Andrey Yarmolenko replying for the visitors, who will wonder how they aren’t level at least. The Germans have been dominant, but they’ve lacked ruthlessness up front and organisation at the back.
45 min: Pulisic slides the ball into the Tottenham net, but the flag’s up for offside! He wasn’t off, far from it, but Aubameyang was and he needlessly tried to go for the ball! If he’d just stayed out of the way, Dortmund would be level. Oh dear. It all came after Dortmund sliced Tottenham open again, though. It’s doubtful that will be the last time they threaten. But Spurs still, somehow, lead.
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42 min: Son races through on the right. Burki decides to race out of his area to meet him. He’s only 30 yards from goal. He gets nowhere near it and Son rounds him ... but the flag’s up for offside. The Dortmund keeper is having one, though.
40 min: Pulisic dinks a cross into the middle. The ball skims off Yarmolenko’s head, so obviously it’s a Dortmund corner. Fortunately for the officials, Dortmund don’t equalise.
36 min: Eric Dier’s booked for an overly robust challenge on Dahoud. Moments later, Dortmund are on the attack again. Sanchez is caught out by Yarmolenko and Dortmund are able to spring Aubameyang clear down the right. This should be the equaliser, but the cross is too heavy and the sliding Pulisic can’t make meaningful contact in the middle.
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34 min: Dortmund pull Tottenham’s midfield out of position again. Kagawa is in between the lines, but he overcooks a simple pass through to Aubameyang, allowing Lloris to smother the danger.
32 min: The brilliant Pulisic spreads more panic in the Spurs defence, dribbling in from the left and driving to the heart of the home back four. He’s stopped before he can get a shot away, though, and Toljan’s efforts blocked. But Tottenham need to give Aurier more protection against Pulisic.
30 min: A huge roar of “Come on you Spurs” from the home fans spreads around Wembley. The home fans sense there could be trouble. They might be right. All of a sudden, Pulisic skitters behind Tottenham on the left, into the area, and looks to roll the ball across for a tap-in for Aubameyang. It almost comes off, but for a saving challenge from Vertonghen. What a scare for Tottenham, but their lead is still intact.
28 min: Tottenham clear the ball confidently, but it isn’t long before Dortmund have the ball back. Dortmund have had 67% possession. But look at the score.
27 min: Tottenham are finding it difficult to get out of their half at the moment. You suspect it won’t be long before Dortmund, with all this possession, create something. They almost do here. Sahin curls a cross to the far post and Davies has to bundle the ball behind before Yarmolenko can attack it.
25 min: Owen Hargreaves reckons Davinson Sanchez and Serge Aurier are “two athletes ... two powerhouses”.
23 min: A long spell of Dortmund possession. They could do with calming things down. They’re great going forward, but they’ve been all over the place at the back, giving Tottenham far too much space.
21 min: Hugo Lloris charges out to claim a high ball. He stumbles when he lands, though, and has to recover quickly to make sure he doesn’t carry the ball out of the area.
20 min: Peter Bosz looks displeased.
19 min: After a scrappy spell in midfield, the ball deflects out to Pulisic on the left. He drifts inside and shoots with his right foot, but it’s deflected over for a corner, which comes to nothing.
18 min: Son pinches the ball in the middle of Dortmund’s half and Eriksen is in acres of space down the right. One pass and he’s in, but Son’s ball is cut out by Toprak.
GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (Kane, 15 min)
A long punt forward from Jan Vertonghen. Not much on, you’d think. But Kane wins the first aerial challenge near the halfway line on the left, bundling his marker over, before haring off in pursuit of the ball. He bustles past Sokratis, the challenge far too weak, and bulldozes towards the area. Again the angle’s tight. But again Burki leaves a gap at his near post. Kane hammers a fierce shot goalwards with his left foot and it flies high into the net! What is the Dortmund goalkeeper up to? It’s a brilliant individual goal from Kane, mind you. What a game!
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14 min: A corner to Dortmund on the left, Toljan winning it. They’re having joy in the wide areas, overloading Tottenham’s wing-backs. Eriksen and Son have to help out more. The corner comes to nothing, though.
13 min: There is a sense that Tottenham were waiting for that. Dortmund had been all over them for a couple of minutes.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (Yarmolenko, 11 min)
Dortmund continue to make Tottenham chase shadows, speeding the ball past the white shirts with increasing menace. Tottenham are in trouble down the right flank. Piszczek causes more problems slipping the ball into the area. Kagawa flicks it back to the edge of the area, where Yarmolenko arrives to bend a peach of an effort into the top right corner with his wand of a left foot, Lloris nowhere near it! What a stunner! What a start!
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10 min: Dortmund are hunting an equaliser with increasing urgency. Tottenham are breathing heavily. The Germans are starting to play their football.
9 min: But here come Dortmund, calmly passing the ball, treating it as a friend. A lovely pass inside Davies sends Pisczek clear down the right. The right-back slides a low cross into the six-yard box and Aubameyang looks certain to score, until Alderweireld denies him with a perfectly timed lunge. Dortmund continue to threaten, but Tottenham scramble it clear.
8 min: Dortmund look a little shocked. And with good reason. What a start for Spurs, who are looking bright, confident and well organised.
6 min: Looking at the replay of the goal, Burki really shouldn’t have been beaten. Take nothing away from the Spurs move, though, and the ambition from Son. They seem to have done their homework on their opponents based on that sequence of events.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Borussia Dortmund (Son, 4 min)
A Dortmund move breaks down in the Spurs half and the hosts look to break. The ball’s moved quickly through midfield and when Harry Kane turns in space, he spots that the Dortmund defence has pushed up so high. One fine pass down the left carves them open and sends Son hurtling away. He’s got so much room to attack. Dortmund are all over the shop! The South Korean speeds into the area, cuts inside, then back on to his left foot, and for a moment it seems the chance has gone, that the angle’s too tight. But instead of shooting, he spots a gap at the near post and catches Burki by surprise with a firm rising drive! The Dortmund keeper barely reacts and Spurs lead! What a start!
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2 min: Tottenham look to press high as Dortmund stroke the ball around at the back, but Eric Dier gives away a free-kick with an exuberant tackle.
And we’re off! Tottenham, all in white, get the game underway! They’re kicking from right to left in the first half. Dortmund are in yellow and black, just like Watford.
Here come the teams. The Dortmund fans are, as expected, making a racket. Time for the Champions League anthem! Everyone sing along!
Rudd Hughes points out Mario Gotze has had health problems. Yes, that probably hasn’t helped.
Despite their injuries, it seems unlikely that Borussia Dortmund will sit back tonight. Peter Bosz loathes defensive football. “When I became a coach almost 20 years ago, I didn’t know at all what kind of coach I would be,” he told the Guardian in May. “But when I am on the bench, I want to enjoy myself. When I see my team only defending and destroying - playing like I did - I will not enjoy it. So even when I started, I thought when I’m on the bench at least I will give myself a happy afternoon. And if I give myself a happy afternoon, I can give it to the fans. I watch a lot of football. There was a time when a lot of teams played only on the counterattack. But these days with Pep Guardiola and Sampaoli, there are a lot of coaches who are thinking that you can win with attractive football. It’s possible.”
Mauricio Pochettino speaks. “It is exciting to play here at Wembley, the best competition in the world. It is important to rotate the squad because we have a strong squad. Serge, his first game. It is important to build his confidence and develop his game. But he’s a great player who has played a lot of games in the Champions League and showed that he will perform in the right way. I think when you see the squad of Dortmund, it is fantastic. They have problems now but you can have problems in the future. It is important to have a strong squad.”
Mario Gotze is on the bench. When Borussia Dortmund got to the Champions League final in 2013, the big story was that he missed out against Bayern, his future club, with an injury. It felt like such a blow to Dortmund. But the move to Bayern didn’t work out. He was supposed to be a star; Pep Guardiola thought he could be his new Messi. Yet despite scoring the winner in the World Cup final, it hasn’t quite worked out for Gotze in the past few years. What’s gone wrong?
Tottenham are without Dele Alli, suspended after that horror tackle against Gent last season. In comes Son Heung-Min, while Serge Aurier makes his first start on the right since his first move from PSG, replacing Kieran Trippier.
Borussia Dortmund are depleted by injuries. Marcel Schmelzer and Marc Bartra are missing from the team that drew with Freiburg on the weekend. Omer Toprak and Jeremy Toljan come in, while up front Shinji Kagawa and Andrey Yarmolenko replace Mario Gotze and Gonzalo Castro.
Team news
Tottenham: Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Aurier, Dier, Dembele, Davies; Eriksen, Son; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Foyth, Trippier, Walker-Peters, Sissoko, Winks, Llorente.
Borussia Dortmund: Burki; Piszczek, Sokratis, Toprak, Toljan; Sahin, Dahoud; Pulisic, Kagawa, Yarmolenko; Aubameyang. Subs: Weidenfeller, Subotic, Castro, Götze, Zagadou, Isak, Philipp.
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy).
Preamble
It has been four years since Borussia Dortmund’s last visit to Wembley, but it’s one they probably prefer not to talk about too much. How close that brilliant collection of players came to becoming champions of Europe that night, only for Arjen Robben to ruin the dream with a late opportunistic winner for Bayern Munich. It was the beginning of the end for that team. Mario Gotze had already endeared himself to Dortmund’s fans by agreeing a move to Bayern and it would not be long before Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummel followed him to Munich. Jurgen Klopp gave it another two seasons, but it wasn’t the same after Wembley.
Dortmund haven’t gone away, though. They had a reasonable couple of years under Thomas Tuchel, who ended up putting a few noises out of joint within the club, and now the attack-obsessed Peter Bosz is in the dugout after impressing with Ajax last season, taking a young side to second in the Eredivisie and the final of the Europa League and more importantly bringing a spark back to the Amsterdam Arena. Dortmund have made a promising start to the season, despite losing Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona, and are top of the Bundesliga after three matches. Tottenham could have done without being drawn in the same group as them and Real Madrid.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team will just have to get on with it, though, especially if they plan on giving a better account of themselves than they managed in the Champions League last year. They know from experience that they have to get off to a fast start. Last season they began with a 2-1 home defeat to Monaco at Wembley and never recovered, finishing third and dropping into the Europa League. In all likelihood the presence of Madrid, European champions in three of the past four years, means that Tottenham and Dortmund are playing for second, so the pressure is on tonight. If Tottenham are going to make it into the knockout stages, it’s doubtful that they can afford to lose this one.
But that might depend on whether Tottenham can find their feet in their temporary home. Last year Tottenham said goodbye to the old White Hart Lane with 17 league wins and two draws, but in Europe they had to play at Wembley and lost to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in this tournament before tripping themselves up against Gent in the Europa League, and they still haven’t cracked it judging by their first two home matches this season. Things keep going wrong: Chelsea scored a late winner, Burnley scored an even later equaliser. Perhaps it comes from the slight unfamiliarity, creating tension that stops this very good team from producing the kind of football that humiliated Everton at Goodison Park on the weekend. What Tottenham could do with is a big win, a memorable performance to extinguish the uncertainty. And if they can make Dortmund’s Wembley demons come flooding back, this could be the night. It’s a daunting task, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity. Perhaps if they turn out in Arjen Robben masks...
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
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