Borussia Dortmund vs. Tottenham Hotspur: UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg CONFIRMED line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog
Borussia Dortmund were unable to overturn a 3-0 deficit in Tuesday's decisive UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg against Tottenham Hotspur, conceding a 1-0 defeat at the Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (agg 0-4)
As it happened
FULL TIME!
It's all over. Tottenham progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, while Dortmund bow out - but they will no doubt be back next season.
90'+1 PULISIC PREVENTS 2-0
Pulisic does really well to get back and prevent Lamela from making it 2-0, after a wicked curling ball to the back post from Aurier. We're into the final few seconds.
89' LLORIS YET AGAIN
BVB have been up against a French wall tonight. Bruun Larsen threads a lovely pass into Alcacer, who is one-on-one with Lloris - but the Spurs keeper comes out on top once again. What a game he's had - and how different it might have been if he hadn't made those wonderful saves in the first half. Two minutes of injury time to be played.
88' DORTMUND STILL COMING
To their credit, the Dortmund players are still trying to get forward and snatch at least a draw on the night - they'd like to give the fans something to cheer about.
84' BRUUN LARSEN HAS A GO
With his back to goal, Götze flicks the ball up for Bruun Larsen on the edge of the area, but the Dane's volleyed effort rebounds back off his German teammate and it's an easy catch for Lloris. Spurs made their final change a moment ago - Rose on for Eriksen - and now we're just winding down the clock.
80' LATEST
Sissoko almost gets into a shooting position for Spurs, but the Dortmund defence nick the ball off him at the last minute. I've just had another look at the stats - Lloris hasn't had a save to make this half. That Kane goal really knocked the stuffing out of BVB. Nine minutes of normal time remaining.
76' PULISIC!
Delaney's first contribution is to whip an excellent ball into the penalty area, where Pulisic is completely unmarked - but the American can't quite steer it on target. The VAR then has a look at a shove on a Dortmund player, but it doesn't warrant a penalty.
74' REUS OFF FOR DELANEY
A final change for Dortmund as captain Marco Reus is replaced by Thomas Delaney. I think Lucien Favre is already thinking ahead to Saturday's Bundesliga clash at home to VfB Stuttgart.
68' VERTONGHEN IN THE WAY
Reus attempts a clever little pass through to Bruun Larsen, but the big Belgian defender sticks out a boot and prevents the ball from reaching its target.
64' DORTMUND STILL PUSHING
In comes a free-kick for the hosts, and after a bit of head tennis Götze sees an attempt charged down. Dortmund are having a go but they need a goal to spark a bit of life into the Signal Iduna Park.
62' DOUBLE CHANGE FOR BVB
Guerreiro and Wolf make way for Christian Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen. Can an injection of fresh energy change anything for Dortmund?
57' WOLF WELL OVER
This sums things up for Dortmund at the moment - Götze switches the ball out to the right, Sancho touches it down for Wolf, and the right-back sends it flying into the stands. Dortmund have had 13 shots, Spurs have had three - but Kane's is the only one that counts.
55' LATEST
As you can imagine, that Kane goal has taken the wind out of Dortmund's sails - it's all gone rather quiet at the Signal Iduna Park. Winks is down for Spurs - it looks like he might have to go off. Indeed - here comes Eric Dier in his stead.
49' KANE SCORES!
Disaster! The BVB defence move a yard too high and leave Harry Kane unattended - and when Sissoko puts the ball through to him, the England striker takes a touch before firing Spurs ahead. FIVE goals now required for Dortmund.
46' AS YOU WERE...
BVB straight on the attack again as Alcacer clips an angled ball over the Spurs defence for Reus, who decides to drive it low and hard across the six-yard box - but there's nobody to get on the end of it. Bis repetita a minute later - with the Dortmund captain crossing from the left this time, but it's much too high.
46' KICK-OFF!
We're back underway at the Signal Iduna Park.
STAT ATTACK
Dortmund had 11 shots on goal in the first half, compared to just one for Spurs - with Lloris making five saves. BVB players made an average of 35 passes in the first half (led by Akanji with 56) - for Tottenham the figure was just 12.
HALF-TIME!
Dortmund have executed their game plan very well, but they've come up against a seriously impressive Hugo Lloris, whose string of saves around the 35-minute mark has kept his side in the driving seat. BVB have 45 minutes to score three goals. Can they do it? You bet they can!
44' STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR LLORIS
Alcacer has a go from the edge of the area, but it's well read by Lloris, who gathers comfortably. We'll have two minutes of stoppage time.
40' FIVE MINUTES UNTIL THE BREAK
The corner in question comes to nothing, and Dortmund are back on the front foot. Great time to get a goal.
38' KANE FRUSTRATED
Harry Kane - remember him? - looks to drive forward from midfield, but three BVB players are on him like angry bees and the hosts soon have possession back. Here's Kane again - and he wins a corner as Weigl slides in.
37' AND AGAIN!
Dortmund simply cannot find a way past the Spurs goalkeeper, who this time blocks a fierce Sancho shot. Another corner for BVB... gathered by Lloris.
34' LLORIS AGAIN!
Remarkable from the France captain! From another corner Sancho floats it to Reus, whose stinging volley is palmed over by the keeper. From the next corner - we've had about four in a row - Götze curls one on target but Lloris claws it out with his left hand. Dortmund should be ahead.
33' ALCACER BLOCKED - BRILLIANT FROM LLORIS!
Sancho squares a ball to Alcacer, whose shot is deflected out for a corner. In it comes and at the second time of asking, Weigl finds himself in a shooting position - but his effort is turned behind by Hugo Lloris.
31' GREAT CHANCE FOR SON!
Spurs haven't had a sniff all game, but Son finds himself one-on-one with Bürki after a neat ball through. Luckily for Dortmund, their old foe can only poke his effort wide of the post and the Signal Iduna Park breathes a huge sigh of relief.
29' AURIER DOWN
The Ivorian has had to step off to the pitch after a collision, which gives Lucien Favre time to run through a few tactical points with Wolf and Sancho. Half an hour gone - BVB on top in terms of possession, but lacking a bit of cutting edge.
28' SANCHO QUIET
We haven't seen too much of Jadon Sancho for the time being - he could potentially be the key to unlocking this Spurs defence. Wolf has a chance to get another ball in from the right, but it's too close to Lloris and the Frenchman gathers.
23' DIALLO FOR GÖTZE
Diallo finds himself in the unusual position of being in space in the Spurs penalty area, and the makeshift left-back decides to pull it back for Götze, whose shot is blocked. He might have been better off pulling the trigger there.
21' FIRST SAVE FOR LLORIS!
Reus comes darting forward and plays a clever one-two with Guerreiro before getting a shot away - it takes a deflection off Sanchez and ends up at a comfortable height for Lloris. A few seconds later, Wolf overhits a cross into the box and it's out for a throw-in.
19' ONE-WAY TRAFFIC
Dortmund have had over 70 per cent of possession so far, with Spurs hardly making a foray into their half - then again they do have a 3-0 lead to defend. As I write that Davies whips in a ball from the left, but the move breaks down as Alderweireld lumps it out of play.
16' PACMAN!
Well as it turns out he was offside, but Paco Alcacer shows remarkable technique to bring down a long ball over the top and get a shot away, although it flies over the bar. The flag then went up, rather late. A warning for Spurs.
13' CLOSE!
Dortmund get in behind Spurs with a long throw of all things, but Reus' ball into the middle is cut out... the visitors playing a rather dangerous game at the moment, they're surrendering possession very easily. How long until BVB punish them for it?
11' WHAT A TACKLE!
A brilliant intervention from Jan Vertonghen to prevent Reus getting a shot away from close range! BVB are starting to motor but they haven't tested Lloris yet.
10' MISHIT BY SANCHO
The 18-year-old finds himself in a yard of space in the area, but he mishits his attempted cross for Reus and Spurs have a goal kick. Very much a game of cat and mouse so far.
9' SPURS PLAYING THE COUNTER
Not that they actually have yet, but that's the plan for Pochettino's side. For the time being their full-backs Aurier and Davies are staying almost level with the defence to create a five-man backline. Not too much space to exploit.
5' SANCHO'S SILKY SKILLS
The England international shows what he's capable of as he streaks away from two or three Spurs players on the right flank, but his ball into the middle is shanked away. The visitors now sitting and letting BVB come at them, but no real chances to speak of as yet.
3' LATEST
The two teams are sizing each other up at the moment, with Dortmund getting their feet on the ball for the first time - one over the top is too long for Marco Reus. Going back to the formation discussion from a little earlier, BVB are indeed set up in a 4-1-4-1, with Witsel as a lone pivot.
1' KICK-OFF!
Here we go! Dortmund need to win 3-0 to take it to extra time, or 4-0 to progress directly to the quarter-finals. Can Favre's men do it?
SHOWTIME!
The players come out and are greeted by a magnificent tifo showing the Champions League trophy - a nod to Dortmund's successful campaign of 1996/97. And now the famous anthem is ringing out...
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE!
The Signal Iduna Park is buzzing as the fans belt out YNWA, with the players preparing to head out on to the pitch. Fasten your seatbelts!
CLEAN SHEET #4?
Dortmund have kept clean sheets in all three of their home Champions League outings this season, winning 3-0 against Monaco and 4-0 against Atletico before a goalless draw with Club Brugge. They will do everything they can to avoid conceding again tonight - the alternative means scoring at least five goals.
FOUR CHANGES FOR BVB, THREE FOR SPURS
Favre has made four changes from last Friday's shock defeat in Augsburg, with Wolf, Weigl, Guerreiro and Alcacer coming in for Hakimi, Zagadou, Delaney and Bruun Larsen. For the visitors, Winks returns for Wanyama in midfield after recovering from injury, while Aurier and Davies replace Trippier and Rose in the full-back roles.
DORTMUND BLUFF?
Interestingly, Dortmund have suggested via Twitter that they will be lining up with Wolf, Akanji, Weigl and Diallo at the back - but the bundesliga.com brain trust has decided that may not be strictly the case. Weigl is a defensive midfielder at heart, after all, and Guerreiro began life as a left-back in France - so the line-up could perhaps be closer to this:
Bürki - Wolf, Akanji, Diallo, Guerreiro - Witsel, Weigl - Sancho, Reus, Götze - Alcacer
I suppose we'll find out in about half an hour's time! The players are now out on the pitch for the warm-up.
PHILIPP OUT
Dortmund have just tweeted that Maximilian Philipp has been sidelined with a knee ligament injury, so he will of course play no part tonight. Otherwise we might have had a 3-1-4-2.
ALL-OUT ATTACK!
That is one attacking line-up from Lucien Favre! The Swiss tactician has abandoned his traditional two-man pivot of Witsel and Delaney for an ultra-offensive 4-1-4-1 - with Sancho, Reus, Götze, Guerreiro and Alcacer all on the pitch at the same time. Woof.
5 REASONS DORTMUND CAN DO IT
#5) Paco, Pulisic and the BVB supersubs
In the unlikely event Dortmund's A-team struggle to break Tottenham down, Favre has a Plan B and C. Plan B typically involves former Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer, who has scored a whopping 10 of his 12 Bundesliga goals so far this term as a substitute - but missed the first leg. The Swiss tactician also has, among others, Christian Pulisic waiting in the wings.
The American trailblazer, who will join Tottenham's city rivals Chelsea at the end of the campaign, has saved some of his best performances in 2018/19 for the Champions League, most notably scoring the winning goal in Brugge on his 100th competitive appearance for BVB. No wonder Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney believes "Dortmund have the best bench in Europe."
THE TITLE RUN-IN
Who will hold their nerve in the title race? And which teams could put a spanner in the works for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich? With 10 games to go, bundesliga.com assesses the top two’s final fixtures.
Dortmund lead the way on goal difference after Matchday 24 – having scored two more goals than the defending champions. The current leaders have an even split of home and away matches remaining, while Bayern have six home games and just four away matches to play. Click here for more!
5 REASONS DORTMUND CAN DO IT
#4) Dortmund have done it before
Before you mark us down for accuracy, we know that Spurs beat Dortmund 3-1 at home and 2-1 away in the 2017/18 group stage - but rest assured the BVB ensemble that lost those games, particularly the second fixture, is a world away from the first-choice XI that put four without reply past Atletico back in October. In terms of mentality and performance levels, Lucien Favre's troupe are more comparable with Thomas Tuchel's class of 2015/16, who blasted Spurs 3-0 at home and 5-1 on aggregate in the Europa League last 16.
VOTE FOR ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: FEBRUARY
Was RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams, Eintracht Frankfurt's Evan N'Dicka or Hertha Berlin's Marko Grujic the standout performer of the month? Click here to cast your vote!
5 REASONS DORTMUND CAN DO IT
#3) The 12th man
Tottenham won't just be facing 11 men, either. Tens of thousands of black-and-yellow bricks will align within Dortmund's world-famous home monument, with a good portion setting up shop within the Yellow Wall south terrace. And while its capacity is reduced somewhat to make it an all-seater stand on European nights, the effect is no less spectacular.
A raucous gathering of Schwarzgelben souls that can cause opposing teams to wilt and BVB's best to bloom: ex-Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp once likened the experience of following his former team out onto the field to "being reborn". Don't be surprised if Tottenham's players are running home to Mummy once the tie is done and dusted...
VOGTS BACKS GÖTZE RECALL
Former Germany head coach Berti Vogts has tipped Mario Götze for a recall to the national team following his return to form this season. "It's a lot of fun to watch him play right now," said the ex-Scotland manager, who has seen the 2014 FIFA World Cup match winner score four and set up five goals in 11 Bundesliga starts this season. "He finds solutions and creates space. Götze is, at the very least, on the path towards returning to the national team."
SHARING THE GOALS AROUND
Borussia Dortmund have been scoring freely in their bid to be crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time since 2012. Eighteen players have netted in the league already, but can Lucien Favre’s men break Werder Bremen’s record of 20 different scorers over a season?
Bremen set the current mark in the 2007/08 campaign, when they unsurprisingly finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorers that season.
The 2018/19 Dortmund squad have been getting goals from almost as many players as the 07/08 Bremen team, with Dan Axel-Zagadou becoming the 18th different scorer when he hit the target in the 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 23. But who needs to score if Dortmund are to match or even beat the previous record?
5 REASONS DORTMUND CAN DO IT
#2) The Signal Iduna Park
A fit-again Reus is one thing, but a fit-again Reus at the Signal Iduna Park is another. Dortmund have lost just once at their world-famous home since May 2018, and on penalties at that after Reus went off injured at half-time in their DFB Cup Round of 16 meeting with Werder Bremen.
Their home record in 2018/19 is otherwise pretty faultless: 14 wins, two draws and 41 goals scored. BVB have accounted for the likes of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach, tonked lowly Nuremberg 7-0 and subjected Diego Simeone to his heaviest defeat as Atletico Madrid boss - and a repeat of that particular 4-0 drubbing would send Spurs packing...
REUS: 'WE ALL BELIEVE'
"We know we can always score goals," said BVB captain Reus, having contributed 13 of Dortmund's league-high 58 in the Bundesliga this season. "But it'll be important to cut out the mistakes at the back. Obviously we need to find the right balance between attack and defence, because if they score then it'll be very difficult. But we all believe we can do it."
5 REASONS DORTMUND CAN DO IT
#1) The Reus factor
There's no doubt Dortmund are a completely different proposition when talismanic captain Reus is on the pitch. While BVB lost only three of the 28 games he has started this season, they are winless in the three he has sat out. Absent with a groin problem, his leadership qualities were sorely missed in London, but he's more than just a black-and-yellow aura. With 17 goals and 11 assists, the Dortmund hometown hero is taking or making a chance at an average rate of pretty much one per game in all competitions in 2018/19 - which is hardly comforting for a Tottenham side that conceded the second-highest number of group goals of all teams through to the last 16 (10).
WELCOME!
Hello, and welcome to our build-up and live coverage of Borussia Dortmund's UEFA Champions League Last 16 second-leg tie with Tottenham Hotspur. After losing the first leg 3-0 at Wembley, Dortmund have a huge mountain to climb, but who says Lucien Favre's men can't do it?
Latest
After losing just once en route to topping Champions League Group A ahead of Atletico Madrid, Dortmund have been left with a mountain to climb in the knockout rounds. The Black-Yellows need to score at least three goals to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals, but if anyone can do it it's Dortmund. The Bundesliga leaders are unbeaten on home soil across 90 minutes this season, most notably dispatching Atletico 4-0 in the groups, and have captain Reus back in their ranks. The Germany international was sorely missed in the first leg, but managed 66 minutes of the surprise 2-1 defeat at Augsburg on Friday and starts tonight. London-born Sancho is also part of an attacking BVB line-up, but Chelsea-bound USA international Christian Pulisic begins on the bench.
Tottenham travel to Dortmund with their very own talisman in tow in the form of 21-goal top scorer Harry Kane. The England forward was a spectator as former Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen forward Heung-min Son opened the scoring in the first leg, but returned to action a week later with a goal in the 2-1 defeat to Burnley. Spurs are still missing England midfielder Dele Alli, however. Mauricio Pochettino's fading English Premier League title hopefuls drew 1-1 with Arsenal at the weekend, but head to Dortmund without an away win in Europe all season and having lost their last four domestic games in a row on their travels.
Watch: What makes Jadon Sancho such an asset for Dortmund?
Match stats
- As well as Atletico, Dortmund beat Monaco 3-0 and drew 0-0 with Club Brugge in their home games during the group stage.
- BVB have not lost at home in 90 minutes since 5 May 2018 (18 matches).
- Reus has 17 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season.
- Reus scored twice as Dortmund recorded a 5-1 aggregate win over Tottenham, including a 3-0 triumph at home, in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League Round of 16.
- Former Watford and Manchester City youth player Sancho only trails Barcelona's Lionel Messi for assists across Europe's top five leagues this season (10 to 11).
- Son hit 41 goals and 10 assists in 135 Bundesliga appearances for Hamburg and Leverkusen between 2010 and 2015.
Line-ups
Dortmund: Bürki – Wolf (Bruun Larsen 62'), Weigl, Akanji, Diallo – Witsel – Sancho, Götze, Reus (c) (Delaney 74'), Guerreiro (Pulisic 62') – Alcacer
Unused subs: Hitz, Zagadou, Hakimi, Schmelzer
Out: Piszczek (heel), Philipp (knee)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Tottenham: Lloris (c) – Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen – Aurier, Winks (Dier 55'), Sissoko, Davies – Eriksen (Rose 83') – Son (Lamela 71'), Kane
Unused subs: Gazzaniga, Wanyama, Lucas, Llorente
Out: Alli (hamstring)
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
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