Tottenham stood tall to deny Borussia Dortmund a miraculous comeback and progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a thoroughly impressive 4-0 aggregate scoreline.
The hosts attacked from the word go and – on a better day – could have scored three before half-time. But a dominant performance from Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen in the first half kept Dortmund at bay.
Harry Kane scored a goal early in the second half and this left Dortmund needing five goals in just over half an hour. There was no miracle in store for the hosts and they were eliminated from the competition.
We take a look at how the players performed.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Roman Burki 5: Didn’t have much to do for most parts of the game and when he did, there was not much he could have done. A handful of keepers would have kept out Kane’s shot.
Marius Wolf 6: Good game in defence, did well to keep up with Son Heung-Min. Could have done much better with his deliveries into the box.
Manuel Akanji 6: Not tested in the first half. Coped well when questioned and couldn’t do much about the goal as it was caused by Sancho playing Kane onside.
Abdou Diallo 6: Won personal duels with Son most of the time and delivered some good aerial balls on either wing.
Raphael Guerreiro 5: Could not provide much threat on the left, taken off in the second half.
Julian Weigl 6: Played various roles throughout the game. Had to shuttle back and forth in the first half and then drop deep in the second. Nothing momentous from the youngster.
Axel Witsel 6: Had to single-handedly anchor the midfield with Weigl shuttling between the boxes. Completed his task without any errors, to be fair.
FULL TIME | The end of our European journey.#BVBTHFC 0-1 pic.twitter.com/IiOtUCy2uB
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 5, 2019
Mario Gotze 6: Had an important role in build-up while Reus and Sancho were the ones in a more attacking role, but ultimately failed to stamp his name on the fixture in any way.
Marco Reus 7: Dortmund’s best player on the night, was a constant threat to the Spurs defence both directly and indirectly. Unlucky not have bagged any assists.
Jadon Sancho 7: Created problems on either flank with his speed, created a few chances with some neat crosses and cutbacks.
Paco Alcacer 5: Missed quite a few chances – not easy ones – but the ones you can’t afford to miss when the team needs a minimum of three goals.
Substitutes
Jacob Bruun Larsen 5: Came on at the hour mark, provided a few half-chances but could not convert any.
Christian Pulisic 5: Did his best to engineer an opening but nothing worth mentioning. Minimal impact on the game
Thomas Delaney 6: Came on for the last 15 minutes or so, created a good chance for Alcacer to miss.
Harry Kane
TOTTENHAM
Hugo Lloris 9: Two amazing saves in the first half to ensure that Spurs were level at the break when they clearly could have been down by two or even three goals.
Toby Alderweireld 6: Average performance. Had problems dealing with Reus and the German usually came out on top.
Davinson Sanchez 7: Solid performance after a disaster in the North London derby. Could not completely shut down Sancho, but did well in limiting his influence.
Jan Vertonghen 9: Two crucial blocks in the first half, one of which was a last-man block. Arguably the best player in Spurs’ back-line.
Serge Aurier 7: Solid at the back, negated any threat from that side of the pitch and made some surging runs forward.
Harry Winks 5: Failed to impress. Could not assume control of midfield, was not involved as much as he should have been.
Moussa Sissoko 8: Massive physical presence in midfield. Constantly unsettled Dortmund’s attacks. Most importantly, set Kane on goal and bagged the assist.
Ben Davies 6: A vast portion of Dortmund’s attacks came from his side of the pitch, made one key block. Was not very clean with his passing.
Christian Eriksen 7: Two key passes and Spurs’ major source of creativity. Victim to a defensive substitution in the second half.
Son Heung-min 6: Was crucial in counters – Spurs’ only form of attack for a huge chunk of the game – but missed a one-on-one chance that could have handed Spurs a lead at half-time.
Harry Kane 8: Not at the end of a lot of chances, scored the goal that basically killed the tie.
Substitutes
Eric Dier 7: Played a crucial role in killing the game, won most of the ground and aerial duels after he was brought on.
Erik Lamela 6: Involved in a few counters but failed to provide anything significant.
Danny Rose N/A: Brought on for the last eight minutes to see the game off.
