UEFA Champions League 2018/19, Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: 5 Talking Points
Tottenham Hotspur took a giant step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a second-half blitz of Borussia Dortmund, as Son Heung-Min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente scored apiece to take a 3-0 lead to the return leg.
Following a cagey first-half with neither sides creating too many good chances, the Lillywhites broke the deadlock just 47 seconds after the break as Son tapped home Vertonghen's cross before the Belgian centre-back doubled the lead just seven minutes from time.
The hosts were sailing towards a comfortable victory, before Llorente came off the bench to add the finishing touches, tapping another sitter to deepen Dortmund's woes, who now need to repeat the trick of the Atletico Madrid thrashing to have any chance of progressing.
Here are the major talking points:
#1 A tale of two contrasting halves
This tie was touted to produce plenty of goals, given the attacking ensemble on show and also their recent domestic runs. But the sloppy and lacklustre opening half offered no great shakes.
Die Borussen even though started on the brighter note, couldn't muster clear cut chances and gradually faded towards the end of the first-half.
Spurs, despite firing a blank, were gaining momentum by slowly opening up Dortmund, but it was only after the break when they could strike the first blow.
Vertonghen, playing in an advanced midfield role, demonstrated his menacing attacking intent when he scampered down the left wing and beautifully picked out an unmarked Son inside the area. The South Korean deity made no mistake from five yards.
It marked the beginning of the downfall of Lucien Favre's men as they then spent a majority of the half on the backfoot, subjected to a barrage of attacks from the spirited hosts.
It was only a matter of time before they widened the deficit, and Spurs did it in the most clinical fashion to put Dortmund to the sword.
A possible dead-heat ended up in absolute demolition.