Tottenham 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: Son Heung-min and Jan Vertonghen lead perfect second-half performance for Spurs

As the Tottenham fans funnelled into the depths of Wembley at half-time last night there would have been nerves.

Spurs had fashioned just one opening in the first 45 minutes as they continually ran up against the yellow wall of Borussia Dortmund. The passes weren’t sticking up front, the midfield were struggling to penetrate and the wing-backs were offering little attacking width as Jadon Sancho repeatedly threatened for the visitors on the counter-attack.

But with the score at 0-0 those fans would also have had a sneaking suspicion that something was coming. After all, Spurs don’t do draws.

It’s the mentality that has seen them manage to avoid a stalemate in all of their 26 Premier League games this season. It’s the mentality that has seen them cling onto the coat-tails of domestic pace-setters Liverpool and Manchester City. And it proved to be the mentality which turned a Champions League first leg against the Bundesliga’s best side on its head.

Even still the home fans couldn’t have in their wildest dreams thought of such a perfect response.

Undeterred by their opposition’s solidity Spurs came out after the break on the front foot and never backed off. Dortmund are known for a high press, but that was exactly the tactic the hosts used to their advantage.

Straight away boxed into the corner by a swarm of lilywhite shirts, Dortmund surrendered the ball to Christian Eriksen. The Dane fed Jan Vertonghen, who read Son Heung-min’s subtle movement and curled in a delightful cross for the South Korean to cushion home and make it 1-0.

Son’s fourth goal in a row at Wembley, fourth in succession against the German side and 11th in his last 12 games was the perfect tonic.

While the first half had been defined by cautious jabs, Spurs set about knocking out their opponent. Leading the charge was Vertonghen. The man who had looked suspect against the pace, trickery and quick feet of Sancho now resembled a rampaging winger.

“They looked very strong and had the better of the game but in the second half we were able to turn it around,” said Vertonghen. “They dropped off a bit then that early goal in the second half helped. We had the confidence to keep going.”

That confidence saw Moussa Sissoko surge into the channels, Harry Winks move the ball swiftly, Eriksen flit into pockets of space, Son stretch the play intelligently and high-quality crosses bombard the Dortmund defence.

With total control, Spurs set about making it six goals scored in the final 10 minutes of their last four home games.

Davinson Sanchez pinched the ball, Serge Aurier looked up, saw Vertonghen making a centre-forward’s run and didn’t hesitate, picking the Belgian out nicely for an emphatic volleyed finish.

They didn’t sit back and admire their work either. The siege continued as Eriksen’s corner was flicked on at the near post into the side-netting by substitute Fernando Llorente to complete an astonishing second-half display against a top quality side.

Dortmund had conceded just two goals and kept five clean sheets in the group stage and they arrived full of confidence with a five-point lead over Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.

But in the event they were completely out-played. Vertonghen and Son may have been the stand-out stars, but Pochettino deserves a lot of credit for his decision-making.

It was he who deployed wing-backs. It was he who preferred Vertonghen on the left to Danny Rose, and Aurier to Kieran Trippier on the right. And it was he who, crucially, has imbued his players with the confidence to push forward when others might naturally recede into their shells.