UCL PLAYER RATINGS | Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Borussia Dortmund – 10-man Dortmund suffer defeat in London | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund were handed only their second defeat of the current UEFA Champions League campaign away to Tottenham Hotspur after Daniel Svensson’s early red card left the Germans chasing the game for much of the evening.

From the off, Dortmund found themselves under fire in North London. However, Niko Kovač’s men initially managed to weather the early pressure.

A counter-attack following a Yan Couto free-kick up the other end saw Xavi almost teed up for a free effort on goal, but for Daniel Svensson’s intervention on the cross from Wilson Odobert, not long before Nico Schlotterbeck then snuffed out a good opportunity for Dominic Solanke.

However, Spurs managed to convert their early dominance into numerical advantage when, in the 14th minute, Odobert retrieved the second ball from a half-cleared Tottenham corner, before drilling it into the penalty area where Cristian Romero was waiting to smash home the opener.

Dortmund were nearly gifted a way back into the game as Serhou Guirassy almost forced an error at the back for Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario, only for the custodian to recover and prevent the equaliser.

However, things went from bad to worse for the visitors not long after. Following a VAR review, Svensson was shown a red card for a challenge on Odobert – his first dismissal in a Dortmund shirt.

Continuing to probe down Dortmund’s now vacant left-hand side, Odobert registered his second goal involvement of the evening in the 37th minute, fizzing a low cross in for Solanke, whose scuffed finish was enough to beat Gregor Kobel as it deflected in off the left-hand post to give the London outfit a 2-0 advantage at the interval.

The half-time introduction of Julian Ryerson and Emre Can helped stabilise Die Schwarzgelben’s defence; the former even nearly halving the deficit from a direct free-kick not five minutes into the second half.

Spurs kept pushing for a third throughout the second 45. Substitute Randal Kolo Muani lost out in a one-on-one with Kobel and Pedro Porro squandered a gilt-edged counterattacking opportunity late on, as the Dortmund defence held firm.

A late flurry of attacks from the visitors almost spelled a consolation. Schlotterbeck came the closest after getting his head on free-kick delivery from Ryerson, but there was to be no late joy for BVB.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel (6) – Anton (5), Schlotterbeck (7), Bensebaini (5) – Couto (4), Bellingham (5), Nmecha (4), Svensson (3) – Adeyemi (5), Brandt (4) – Guirassy (4)

Others: Ryerson (5), Can (5), Silva (5), Chukwuemeka (4), Beier (4)

Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario (5) – Porro (7), Romero (7), Danso (6), Udogie (7) – Gray (6), Bergvall (7) – Odobert (8), Simons (7), Spence (6) – Solanke (7)

Others: Byfield (5), Kolo Muani (4)

GGFN Man of the Match

Even before Svensson’s dismissal, Odobert was Spurs’ liveliest attacking outlet, consistently threatening down the right flank with his speed and accurate crosses.

The winger completed the most dribbles of any player on the pitch – 4/7 (via FotMob) – in addition to overperforming his xA of 0.93 with his two assists.

Schlotterbeck was Dortmund’s standout performer, producing an impressive defensive performance, particularly given his side’s man disadvantage. The German international won the most tackles of any player on the pitch (six) and came the closest of any BVB player to finding the net late in the second half.

GGFN | Sam Carey