Date published: Wednesday 13th February 2019 10:44
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino joked that the only problem arising from their 3-0 win over Dortmund is that he can only play 11 rather than 22 players.
Goals from Son Heung-min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente gave Spurs the 3-0 Champions League last 16 first-leg win over Dortmund, in what could be called their strongest performance of the season.
After a first-half where Dortmund saw the best of proceedings, Spurs struck within moments of the restart as Vertonghen curled in a delightful ball for Son to sink a cool volley for 1-0.
In what became the Vertonghen show, the Belgian defender netted his side’s second, smashing home a volley of his own after being picked out by Davinson Sanchez in the box.
And Spurs were soon in dreamland when Llorente came off the bench to nod home Christian Eriksen’s corner to make it 3-0.
The London side will now head to Germany with a perhaps unassailable 3-0 aggregate lead against the Bundesliga leaders.
Speaking to BT Sport, Pochettino said: “”It was a fantastic second half. The first half was difficult. It was a difficult game from the beginning. It was difficult to find what the best position was in both directions.
“When we had the ball we struggled to play in the way we wanted to play. The team started to feel comfortable, then we scored. And afterwards we played with more confidence.
“In the first half we played a little – not nervously – but not with the confidence. The second half was very, very good.
“We spoke about our defensive positions and changed things a little. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I wanted to take the best decision to perform in the best way. It was a fantastic game.
“Always when we play this competition and against a good side like Dortmund it is very difficult. There is still work to do.
“We have a lot of talented players. We have an unbelievable squad. I am happy with all the players. The only problem is that we can only play 11 and not 22.”
