Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino on BT: "It was so important to win, we are so happy. It was so important to start well in a tough game. Dortmund played really well, they dominated the first half. We increased our level in the second half and we were very clinical in front of goal. "It is more than three points. At half-time we fixed some problems and modified the position of some players. The tempo of the game decreased which was better for us. Dortmund are a very aggressive team, we struggled a little to pass the ball quickly. "Sometimes you can't dominate, you have to play a different way and the team is more mature now. We can learn a lot from this game. "Harry Kane was fantastic."
Seeing a few comments about the refs favoring Spurs (not unexpected). Makes me laugh. BVB dominated the first half, yet only had a goal to show for it, that being on an incorrect call. Spurs were just more efficient. In the second half, Spurs should have had 2 more goals before the incorrect call which denied BVB. Yet, several times in the later stages of the match, Dembele was clearly fouled, but no call given. And then Vert gets that second yellow which should not have been a yellow.
So I saw that Vertonghen got sent off but where did the ref show him a red card? All I see is him holding Vertonghen's heat map.
Yep, straight red I believe which means 3 match ban. I thought Aurier had a pretty impressive debut, though started a little shaky. I think the new signings are all gonna have a huge impact this season.
I'm OK with that being a second yellow, but not a straight red. Aurier looks to be an upgrade over Walker. Really liking Sanchez.
everything I am reading says it was a 2nd yellow http://www.101greatgoals.com/news/jan-vertonghens-red/
Great snapshot which dramatizes the event. Vert was doing what most plays do and swing his arm back to try and prevent the opposing player access to the ball. Foul? Absolutely. Card? No. It just happened that the angle Vert was standing relative to the distance of Gotze meant a connection to the face. Has Gotze been a foot closer, it might not have even been a foul. Look, the card suggest that Vert was acting either out of control, intentionally viciously, or had a string of fouls. None of those criteria are the case. And to give you an indication of how vicious Vert is, he has 2 red cards in his career. The most recent was 5 seasons ago.
apparently there was an issue with some of the scanners at Wembley - they weren't recognizing the barcodes on the membership cards. someone on SC was saying how he went to the ticket office to sort it, only to find 'literally thousands' of fans queued up for similar reasons. he - and apparently loads of others - didn't get in until the second half. needless to say, I will be entering the stadium as soon as the gates open for the Madrid game. If that happened to me - for that game - I would be apoplectic.
With everyone healthy, this would be my Spurs XI. Thoughts? Lloris Alderweireld Sanchez Vertongen Aurier Wanyama Dembele Rose Eriksen Alli Kane
Not too worried about the Vertongen suspension, he will miss the game in Cyprus. Funny, nobody's come on with their theories and explanations about the size of the Wembley pitch and how it affects Spurs! Amazing what happens when you play well and win a game...
That's why Götze is spewing blood and had loose teeth. Because of a snapshot. Give me a break. The game was lost for BVB at this point and deservedly so, because Tottenham were the better team over 90 minutes - but this action by Vertonghen should've been a straight red. And of course it was intentionally, he even looked back over his shoulder before swinging his arm. Ridiculous to downplay this action.
When was the last time a soccer player was called pillow hands? Seriously, these guys are seriously muscular, and a flailing arm is not light weight. Never mind that getting hit in the mouth accidentally has the same effect as getting hit in the mouth intentionally. And as you say, the match was won, so what purpose does that kind of aggression serve?
It's not accidently when you see the opponent. And in the normal world of football that is always at least a yellow card. If one hit a player like Vert did with Götze and it's intentionally a red is likely. I don't mind that Vert has "only" 2 straight red cards in his career and I don't mind that it seemed pointless for us. He did it and he was lucky to only get a second yellow. He probably would've got a straight red if he wouldn't have had a yellow card already at this point, though. Anyway all in all a very good game for neutrals like me, hope to see your team more in Europe.
I agree that is our best 11 if Rose comes back as good as last year. Then having Son, Dier, Lamela (who?), Trippier, Davies, Llorente, etc. to rotate in is a pretty solid squad. We even were playing defense most of the time!
No need to be passive-aggressive, either. And, as you obviously misread my posts, I said more than the size of the pitch, and I also said Spurs needed to adjust. Seems they have. Or at least they did v. BVB. Turning point? I hope so.
Actually, I was being ironic, there is a big difference. Size of pitch and adjustment are just excuses to cover up lack of marking and giving the ball away at crucial moments. Play well and you will be successful more often than not, whether you are playing at Wembley or in the Sainsbury car park. BTW, we won comfortably at Newcastle on a pitch that is the exact same size as Wembley.
Well I am, if you don't believe it, go over to the BVB forum and ask. I am quite the opposite of a BVB fan. But don't expect me to share your fan-based perspective of this incident.