Tottenham banished their Wembley hoodoo with a brilliant team display, beating Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the Champions League group stage opener. Heung-Min Son’s early goal was quickly cancelled out by Andriy Yaromlenko, but two Harry Kane strikes secured all three points for Spurs. So how did Mauricio Pochettino’s men perform individually?
Hugo Lloris, 7
Couldn’t do anything about Yarmolenko’s beautiful curler. Made a crucial save with his legs to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the second half and swept up well throughout.
Toby Alderweireld, 8
Excellent whenever he found himself one-on-one with an attacker – the tricky Pulisic only got past him once. Oh so comfortable in possession.
Davinson Sanchez, 8
Followed up his impressive first start at Everton with another terrific display. So composed on the ball and always there as the last line of defence when called upon.
Jan Vertonghen, 8
A virtuoso performance only marred by the late second yellow card for an unintentional swing of the arm that will see him miss the trip to APOEL.
Serge Aurier, 8
A little leggy towards the end, but that’s because of the inspiring shift he put in for 75 minutes or so. Looked experienced in defence and confident going forward.
Eric Dier, 7
The central midfielders were perhaps the quietest members of the XI on the night, but Dier played his part by shielding the back line as part of a well drilled defensive unit.
Mousa Dembele, 7
Overran the ball a a few times but helped Dier out protecting the back five during Dortmund’s best spell and drove forward effectively.
Ben Davies, 8
Once again looked like an integral part of team. Didn’t put a foot wrong on the biggest stage. Seems to be getting more and more confident, which is great to see.
Christian Eriksen, 8
Started off a bit scrappy but grew into the game and took advantage of Dortmund’s high-line with some key incisive passes, particularly in the second half.
Heung-Min Son, 8
Set the tone with the opener and was a constant outlet for Spurs on the counter. A bit wasteful in front of goal but he made a huge, immediate impression on the game.
Harry Kane, 9
Crucial goals either side of half-time secured the points. Unerringly cool in in the box on all but one occasion, and the strength he showed for his first goal was incredible.
Substitutes
Moussa Sissoko, N/A
Came on for the last ten minutes and missed a great chance after being sent through on goal.
Fernando Llorente, N/A
Played three minutes plus stoppage time, so didn’t really make an impression.
