The vibes at Tottenham Hotspur have been about as toxic as I’ve ever seen them, but nothing puts things right like a comfortable home win in the Champions League. That’s exactly what Spurs got — first half goals from Cuti Romero and Dominic Solanke put Spurs up two goals by halftime over a ten-man Dortmund, and while the second half was slightly more fraught, Tottenham did enough to see the match out, winning comfortably over a Dortmund side that has only one Bundesliga loss so far this season. The final score was 2-0.
Say what you want about Thomas Frank and his job prospects, today he got it exactly right despite a ton of absences. Micky van de Ven was one of the most notable, as he served a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation. Kevin Danso replaced him on the right side of the defense, with Cuti sliding over to Micky’s usual position. More unusually, Djed Spence started as a left winger, with Destiny Udogie at left back behind him. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall anchored the midfield, with Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, and Dom Solanke, making his first start all season, ahead. Pedro Porro was Pedro Porro.
Spurs came out flying, attacking Dortmund from the opening whistle and looking to get balls into the box. They broke through via a set piece just 14 in, with Wilson Odobert squaring a ball to Cuti Romero’s boot, which he easily converted to put Spurs ahead. The match changed abruptly ten minutes later after Dortmund defender was sent off for a VAR-assisted dangerous tackle on Odobert. Spurs pressed their advantage and went two up late in the first half through Dominic Solanke, his first goal of the season.
Up comfortably and also up a player, Tottenham took their foot off the gas slightly, showing a little more patience for opportunities in front of Dortmund’s goal rather than pushing hard for a third. Part of that was dictated by Dortmund, who came out in the second half pressing higher and trying to disrupt and discombobulate Tottenham in possession. Lucas Bergvall was forced to the sidelines after a hefty challenge with Emre Can that forced his substitution for teenage debutante Jun’ai Byfield. Randal Kolo Muani later came on as a late sub for Solanke.
Here are my match reactions for the game.
Match reactions