Tottenham's White Wall

Never mind The Yellow Wall, here’s the Tottenham White Wall.

Image Credit: Sports Mole

By Lee Clow 5 March 2019 | UEFA Champions League

A perfect defensive performance by Tottenham secured a 4-0 aggregate victory over German leaders Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Despite going into the second leg 3-0 up on aggregate, it was not going to be an easy night for Tottenham in Dortmund. Spurs were were forced to survive a first-half barrage from the Bundesliga leaders in the crackling atmosphere at the Signal Iduna Park. The north London club started the game with a 5 man defense to stop the threat from the German side who returned key men in Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer.

In the first 10 mins, Jan Vertonghen made a crucial tackle to deny Reus a shooting opportunity on Tottenham’s goal. Dortmund came knocking on the door again when Reus wriggled free and got his shot away but it was smartly saved by Lloris after an initial deflection from Davinson Sanchez.

On a rare attacking opportunity for Spurs, Eriksen poked a ball through into Son Heung-min who was unable to dispatch. In the lead-up to Son’s missed chance, suspicions were raised when there appeared to be a push in the back of Son by Marius Wolf, but it was disregarded by the referee and VAR.

Dortmund continued to threaten Spurs’ goal but it was their captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to the rescue for them. In total, the World Cup winning captain made 7 saves, 5 in which were more than your routine stop, ensuring Spurs kept their clean sheet in the tie.

After half time, Spurs came out of the blocks quickly and soon profited from Dortmund's missed chances in the first half. Moussa Sissoko expertly picked out Kane, who was onside, to clinically lift the ball past Burki in the Dortmund goal. The Englishman’s effort assured Tottenham’s lead and cemented their 4-0 aggregate lead. Kane’s goal was also his 24th European goal for Tottenham, moving him one clear of previous record owner Jermain Defoe.

After Spurs’ sucker-punch, Dortmund lost their urgency knowing the tie was way out of reach from that stage. Pulisic headed a chance over the bar with 15 minutes to go and Lloris earned his deserved clean sheet denying Paco Alcacer late on.

The win for Spurs sends them through to the Champions League quarter finals, for just the second time in the club's history, last doing so back in 2010-11 season. For Dortmund, they now face a tricky end to the season battling it out with rivals Bayern Munich for the Budesliga title.

After the game, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was quick to praise his captain for his inspiring performance in the Tottenham goal. "Hugo Lloris was great. We conceded more chances than we expected but that's football. After losing in the first leg they had nothing to lose…In the last 10 minutes of the first half it was difficult for us. They started to play a little bit more and then in the first action, when we were able to connect, we managed to score the goal.” Pochettino continued "Now it's about enjoying that we are in the quarter-finals. We need to feel proud."

What’s next?

Tottenham return to Premier League action on the weekend with a trip to Southampton, while Dortmund host Stuttgart, also on Saturday. The quarter final draw for the Champions League will be held on March 15 and the first legs will be played on April 9 and 10.