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Soccer

Efficient Spurs bury Dortmund, Leipzig bag a point

September 13, 2017

Tottenham showed greater composure and quality in front of goal, securing an important 3-1 win at Wembley. RB Leipzig managed a 1-1 draw as French champions Monaco came to town on Leipzig's maiden Champions League match.

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Champions League: Tottenham Hotspur - Borussia Dortmund
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Thissen

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
(Son 5', Kane 15', 60' - Yarmolenko 11')

Wembley Stadium, London

At half time, hosts Tottenham had taken just two shots, netting both. It took almost 70 minutes for Roman Bürki to make a save, by which time he'd conceded three. Tottenham's merciless conversion of their chances put Dortmund on the back foot, even though Peter Bosz's boys enjoyed 68 percent possession and completed well over double the number of passes that Spurs did. 

Champions League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund
Andriy Yarmolenko's in that scrum somewhere, in this particularly challenging footballing tribute to the 'Where's Waldo' booksImage: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Thissen/

Andriy Yarmolenko's goal may offer BVB some consolation, his left-footed curler was a spectacular way for the Ukraine international to open his account in yellow and black. Furthermore, Dortmund made other opportunities, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic both scoring disallowed goals. In Aubameyang's case, it should have stood.

Dortmund's horrific draw just got even tougher. Real Madrid did the business, beating APOEL Nicosia 3-0, so Bosz's side will be playing catch-up in the very tough Group H.

RB Leipzig 1-1 AS Monaco
(Forsberg 33' - Tielemans 35')

Red Bull Arena, Leipzig

Even though a well-known energy drink purportedly gives you wings, Leipzig didn't need to travel on their European debut. Leipzig will likely be satisfied with a point in a tense encounter against a Monaco side that's still dangerous without Kylian Mbappe. 

Fußball Champions League RB Leipzig - AS Monaco
Leipzig's hard-earned lead was squandered again within two minutesImage: Reuters/F. Bensch

Leipzig's opening night nerves were on display on a few occasions, especially in some moments when they overplayed in their own defensive third. And nowhere were these jitters more evident than in Leipzig's reaction to taking the lead - immediately conceding a scrappy equalizer to undo Forsberg's excellent strike.

Champions League results, Wednesday September 13
Group E
Liverpool 2-2 Sevilla
Maribor 1-1 Spartak Moscow
Group F
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Napoli
Feyenoord 0-4 Manchester City
Group G
Porto 1-3 Besiktas
RB Leipzig 1-1 Monaco
Group H
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid 3-0 APOEL Nicosia

You can re-read our live updates from the two matches involving Bundesliga sides below.

Full time.

90' -- Red card Spurs, Jan Vertonghen. Cameras show Vertonghen caught Mario Götze's face with an outstretched elbow. Was a second yellow for the Belgian defender, not a straight red.

90' -- Late corner for Monaco. And there follows a sustained period of pressure where Leipzig struggled to clear the ball properly. Eventually, though, they get it out. A nervy end as the newcomers seek an opening night point.

89' -- And Gonzalo Castro goes in the book too. He'll want to forget his second half cameo as a sub. Looked out of his depth at times.

88' -- Dortmund's Jeremy Toljan picks up a yellow.

86' -- Monaco's Keita Balde just took Klostermann to school around the corner flag - first beating him to a 50-50 ball and then turning him inside out on the touch line. Pity the cross didn't stack up to the skills that preceded it.

83' -- Sub Spurs: Son Heung-min makes way for Moussa Sissoko, a defensive move as Pochettino looks to grab that elusive Wembley win.

79' -- Diego Benaglio to the rescue (words to warm the hearts of Wolfsburg fans). A through ball almost releases Timo Werner, but the Monaco goalie's wide awake and rushes out to clear.

75' -- Dortmund still pushing to close the gap, with Aubameyang denied by Lloris from a corner just now.

67' -- The ever-amusing 11 Freunde's comment on the Bayern crisis talk. Tweeting simply "Bosz out." We doubt they truly endorse this battle cry. 

67' -- Danger for Dortmund, as Eriksen sprays a spectacular cross to the back post. Davies' shot was stopped by Bürki, though. He'll be glad to get his gloves on one tonight.

66' -- Sub Dortmund. Kagawa makes way for Mario Götze. 

63' -- Disallowed goal Leipzig! Poulsen is played clean through, approaches Diego Benaglio and finishes. But - eventually - the linesman's flag is raised. And replays show Poulsen was offside.

60' -- GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Dortmund (Harry Kane). Kane gets on the end of a crisp one-touch exchange, and beats Bürki down low. Christian Eriksen the creator. 

59' -- Aubameyang decided he fancied a shot, never mind that the free kick's from a range that would make Roberto Carlos think twice. High and not very handsome.

54' -- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been quiet. Even quieter than usual. Dortmund observer Stephan Demobwski wonders if he's carrying a knock, perhaps sustained when he was fouled against Freiburg at the weekend.

53' -- Much being made of Monaco's meager traveling support, a story-line that dovetails nicely with the (frankly often overblown) German narrative of RB Leipzig the anti-club. For what it's worth, from personal experience of Monaco's visit to Leverkusen a few years back, the away fans may be few in number, but they sing with vigor. (Or maybe that's down to the muted atmosphere at Leverkusen games sometimes?)

50' -- A Spurs shot that DIDN'T go in, the first of the night! Son Heung-min makes space to shoot with his right, goes for the top corner, but can't keep it down.

46' -- Second halves begin.

Half-time analysis: An action-packed half at Wembley ends with Spurs a goal to the good, despite Andriy Yarmolenko's splendid first goal in a Dortmund jersey. BVB enjoyed a lot of the ball after Harry Kane restored the Londoner's lead, having 72 percent possession in the half, and will take some hope into the dressing room. Tottenham only had two shots all half, scoring both. The ease with which Spurs penetrated down the left flank, twice, will be a cause for concern for Dortmund if Mauricio Pochettino's men look to play on the counter after the break.

Leipzig also had the lion's share of the ball (60 percent) against visitors Monaco, although the teams split six shots equally. Some nervy moments at the back went unpunished while Forsberg marked his return from injury with a splendid strike. Ralph Hasenhüttl's likely to be satisfied to see his team playing at the level of the Ligue 1 champions first time out in Europe.

HALF TIME. Spurs lead Dortmund 2-1, Leipzig and Monaco are locked together at 1-1.

45' -- Disallowed goal Christian Pulisic. A scrappy one in the box. Aubameyang, stood right next to Pulisic and involved in the play, was offside.

35' -- GOAL! RB Leipzig 1-1 AS Monaco (Youri Tielemans). Blimey, even Spurs' early lead lasted longer than that. Monaco immediately draw level via their booked Belgian in the midfield.

33' -- GOAL! RB Leipzig 1-0 AS Monaco (Emil Forsberg). Splendid finish at the near post from the man best known as Leipzig's assist conveyor belt. Again from the inside left channel, beating the keeper at his near post - as with Son and Kane's goals for Spurs.

30' -- Huge tackle from Jan Vertonghen, intercepting and clearing a low Pulisic cross that Aubameyang was just begging to finish. 

30' -- Around the grounds: 12 goals in half an hour across tonight's eight matches. Manchester City have three of them, unanswered, against Feyenoord. Porto and Besiktas are level at 1-1, as are Liverpool and Sevilla.

27' -- Leipzig come close from a corner. Poulsen got his head to it, and Timo Werner tried and failed to redirect it goalwards at the back post. 

20' -- Monaco making the running early in Leipzig. Although RB's back line hasn't really been compromised, still goalless.

15' -- GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Dortmund (Harry Kane). Roman Bürki beaten at his near post for the second time tonight. Harry Kane bundled past basically the entire Dortmund defense en route to a stunning - but wholly avoidable - goal. 

14' -- Around the grounds: The goals are falling early. Manchester City lead 2-0 against Feyenoord in Rotterdam, while Real Madrid are 1-0 up against APOEL, and Besiktas are 1-0 against Porto.

11' -- GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Dortmund (Andriy Yarmolenko). Pick that one out. Dortmund's new striker leaves Hugo Lloris no chance of stopping an exquisite left-footed curler into the top corner.

8' -- Monaco's midfielder Youri Tielemans picks up an early booking as the teams settle in Leipzig.

4' -- GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Dortmund (Son Heung-min). The South Korean former Leverkusener breaks clear down the left flank, outfoxes last man Sokratis and beats Roman Bürki at his near post. Dream start for Spurs.

2' -- Sokratis wins a free kick while trying to dribble out of trouble in his own third. 

KICK OFF! 

-- The most famous piece of quasi-operatic noise in Europe rings out around Wembley. It's nearly game time.

-- The last thing Spurs are likely to want at the moment is more pressure at Wembley, but tonight's opener could prove crucial in the fierce Group H. If you're working on the assumption of Real Madrid progressing and APOEL Nicosia being the whipping boys, that leaves Dortmund and Tottenham fighting to avoid the Europa League knockout stages.

-- RB Leipzig's winger Emil Forsberg is fit enough to start against Monaco, but the team's missing Naby Keita in the middle of the park. In-form Timo Werner leads the line. 

Monaco, meanwhile, will be looking to Joao Moutinho to pull the strings and Radamel Falcao to find a way past Peter Gulasci in the Leipzig goal. 

-- Team lineups are in for this evening. Dortmund look set to line up in a 4-3-3 with Piszczek and Toljan at full back. Nuri Sahin could have his work cut out for him in holding midfield against Spurs stars like Christian Eriksen - seeing as he's joined by the more attacking Shinji Kagawa and Mahmoud Dahoud.

For Spurs, Serge Aurier - one of PSG's Financial Fair Play offloads - makes his debut in the starting XI. Bundesliga old boy Son Heung-min will offer support to Harry Kane up top.

RB Leipzig will become the 12th German club to set foot in the Champions League on Wednesday, entertaining French champions AS Monaco. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, are in London, hoping to pile more Wembley misery on Tottenham. Dortmund's last visit was for the 2013 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich. 

A propos the 2013 final, Jürgen Klopp returns to the main stage of the competition for the first time since Dortmund's March 18, 2015 exit at the hands of Juventus. Klopp's Liverpool are up against Sevilla in a re-run of the 2016 Europa League final.

Defending champions Real Madrid have what should be a formality of a fixture against APOEL Nicosia, while Feyenoord will hope to defy the odds and continue Manchester City's comically inept Champions League record.

Hallam Mark Kommentarbild App
Mark Hallam News and current affairs writer and editor with DW since 2006.@marks_hallam