Key stats
- Dominic Solanke is only the fifth player to score on his Champions League debut for Spurs, and only the second Englishman after Peter Crouch in September 2010 against Werder Bremen.
- Cristian Romero has scored his second Champions League goal, and first in 15 appearances in the competition since netting for Atalanta against FC Midtjylland in December 2020, five years and 50 days ago.
- Only Arsenal (18) have more goals from corners among Premier League clubs in all competitions this season than Tottenham (15).
Highlights
Analysis
Tottenham were in total control in the first half, but were not quite able to replicate that dominant form in the second half.
Match report
With pressure mounting on boss Thomas Frank, he would have been desperate for a quick start and they almost had it through threatening balls from Pedro Porro, although they were stopped by Daniel Svensson and Nico Schlotterbeck respectively.
The hosts weren’t to be denied in the 14th minute though, as Wilson Odobert recovered from making a mess of his attempted shot by fizzing the ball across for Cristian Romero to apply a clinical first-time finish.
The hosts remained firmly on top after taking the lead, but Jobe Bellingham nipped in to deflect Xavi Simons’ shot behind.
Gregor Kobel’s long ball almost releasing Karim Adeyemi provided a nervy moment for Spurs, yet they were offered further encouragement in the 26th minute when Svensson was sent off for a lunge on Odobert.
Frank’s side retained control and continued to create problems for Die Schwarzgelben from wide areas as they went on to double their lead before HT. Odobert broke into the box and squared the ball for Dominic Solanke, who bundled the ball in off the post with three touches and a slice of fortune.
Niko Kovač responded with a double change ahead of the restart and his side showed an improvement, although Julian Ryerson fired wide from a free-kick.
While Waldemar Anton also struck harmlessly off-target, there was a blow for the hosts shortly after the hour mark with Lucas Bergvall being forced off due to injury, although that did allow 17-year-old Jun’ai Byfield to come on for his debut and become Spurs’ youngest-ever UCL player.
Simons then found enough space in the visitors’ box to let off a strike that was palmed behind for a corner that resulted in Romero heading wide.
Kobel did enough to stop Randal Kolo Muani late on, but Schlotterbeck sent one header off-target and saw another tipped over as Spurs once again recovered from their torrid domestic form to maintain a perfect record in home UCL matches this term and jump up to fifth in the table ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures.
In doing so, they also ended Dortmund’s seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions, although the Bundesliga side sit 11th for now.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Xavi Simons (Tottenham Hotspur)
Post-match comments
Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke says it "meant the world" to score his first Champions League goal and help his side to a much-needed victory.
"The Champions League is the competition that everyone wants to play in, it's the biggest club competition in the world," he told TNT Sports.
"To get my first goal in it is something that you dream about.
"I would have preferred it to be a bit cleaner but a goal's a goal. And I got to enjoy watching it go in in slow motion so it was nice in the end.
"I'm so happy to be back out here, it's my first start since the last game of last season so to be back out here and get the win meant the world."
Solanke was appreciative of the response the players got from their fans after difficult times.
"When we're all together - players, staff, fans - that's key," he said.
"We're all one club, we all want the same thing. We need to put the performances in on the pitch like we did tonight and hopefully we can carry on the momentum."
Defender Pedro Porro said the victory was reward for the intensity Spurs showed.
"The team today was very good," he told TNT Sports.
"When you play with intensity and everything on the pitch, you get the best things.
"In the first half today, the result was good but the most important thing is the three points.
"It's very good for us. You have pressure in football every day, every game and it's normal when you have bad results in the past weeks.
"In football, for me, the best result is to win and the most important now is to stay together for the next game in the Premier League."