Harry Kane lifted Tottenham’s Wembley curse by scoring twice and firing his side to an opening Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
Son Heung-min’s early strike was quickly cancelled out by a stunning effort from Dortmund’s Andriy Yarmolenko but from there this match belonged to the unstoppable Kane.
He restored Spurs’ lead by capping a barnstorming run with an emphatic near-post finish before a cute shot in the second half secured a 3-1 victory and what could prove a vital result for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
GET IN! Goals from Sonny and @HKane (2) see us kick off our @ChampionsLeague campaign with a great win at Wembley! ???? #COYS pic.twitter.com/APpc7Vrb28
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2017
What they said
????️ @HKane: "We wanted to bring energy, get the fans on their feet and play good football." #COYS pic.twitter.com/B0eSrZho7p
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2017
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino: “Maybe people will stop talking about hoodoos and the like that as they have been for the past year. It’s fantastic, not only because of three points. It’s Wembley. It’s the perception that will be changed for our future. It’s so important for our fans and of course for us. That win here is so important.”
Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Bosz: “It’s the first game and it’s very important to get a win in the first game. But it’s not the end of the matter. The group is still open. This is just one game tonight and we have to meet Tottenham again in Dortmund.”
Tweet of the match
Kane,Son and Erikson all missed easy chance on goal. As much as BD are all over us with 2 disallowed goals .Spurs should be 6 up
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) September 13, 2017
Star man – Harry Kane
Harry Kane inspires Tottenham with a double at Wembley Stadium. Key man for Spurs? ⚽️⚽️ #UCL pic.twitter.com/j8sEFQPfsR
— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) September 13, 2017
Tottenham’s attacking trio of Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Kane caused the Dortmund defence plenty of problems all evening but it was the England striker who made the match-winning contribution. He sent Son scampering away down the left for the opening goal before smashing a double past Roman Burki to seal victory.
Moment of the match
???? That #Yarmolenko goal. #thfcbvb 1-1 pic.twitter.com/8I16Hx0yAw
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 13, 2017
Dortmund’s Andriy Yarmolenko equalised with a fabulous left-footed strike but a crucial moment came when his team-mate Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang had a second-half goal wrongly disallowed for offside. The Gabon striker’s cool finish would have made it 2-2 but, despite replays showing he was clearly onside, it was chalked off and minutes later Kane wrapped up the hosts’ win with his second.
View from the bench
???? Mood. #thfcbvb 3-1 pic.twitter.com/9O9VYcLCN7
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 13, 2017
Talk of Tottenham’s troubles at Wembley must be becoming tiresome for manager Mauricio Pochettino and he will hope this victory – their third from their last 13 visits to the national stadium – will help alleviate it. More importantly, with defending champions Real Madrid also in Group H, this victory could go a long way to deciding who progresses to the knockout stages. Dortmund boss Peter Bosz will perhaps feel hard done by given the performance of his Bundesliga side, particularly in the first half.
Player ratings
.@HKane adds our third of the night! ???? #COYS pic.twitter.com/oF29LPIoV2
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2017
Tottenham: Hugo Lloris 7, Serge Aurier 6, Toby Alderweireld 7, Davinson Sanchez 6, Jan Vertonghen 5, Ben Davies 7, Eric Dier 7, Mousa Dembele 6, Son Heung-min 8, Christian Eriksen 8, Harry Kane 9. Subs: Moussa Sissoko (for Son, 83) 5, Fernando Llorente (for Kane, 87) 5.
Borussia Dortmund: Roman Burki 5, Nuri Sahin 6, Andriy Yarmolenko 7, Jeremy Toljan 6, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7, Mahmoud Dahoud 6, Christian Pulisic 7, Shinji Kagawa 6, Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6, Lukasz Piszczek 6, Omer Toprak 6. Subs: Mario Gotze (for Kagawa, 66) 5, Gonzalo Castro (for Dahoud, 72) 5, Dan-Axel Zagadou (for Toprak, 80) 5.
Who’s up next?
Tottenham v Swansea (Premier League, September 16)
Borussia Dortmund v Cologne (Bundesliga, September 17)
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