Tottenham have a score to settle with Borussia Dortmund
By Ryan Wrenn
It’s been 18 months since Tottenham last met Borussia Dortmund, but it would be incorrect to expect the same result.
The two sides met in the Europa League quarterfinals in the spring of the 2015/16 season. Both teams were among the strongest teams left after the group stages and opening knockout rounds of the competition that season.
Any illusions of parity quickly evaporated however, as Dortmund dismantled Spurs 3-0 in Germany before progressing on easily thanks to a 2-1 win at White Hart Lane one week later.
The Germans accomplished this feat rather predictably: they played Tottenham’s brand of football much better than Tottenham could.
That circumstance was predictable. Even after Jürgen Klopp’s departure the previous summer, Dortmund continued to execute in his high-energy pressing style under new coach Thomas Tuchel with lethal precision.
It is that very style that eventually swept over most of the Bundesliga and, notably, crossed Europe to Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino is, in no small part, in Klopp’s debt for the tactics he uses, even if his take is slightly less frenetic than the German’s.
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While Pochettino used those tactics to allow Spurs to play well above their station, they also proved surprisingly vulnerable to teams who thought to press the pressers.
Already in the 2015/16 Europa League season Tottenham had succumb to some competent pressing in a 2-1 loss against Anderlecht, and would again against West Ham shortly after the encounters with Dortmund.
It’s no surprise then that they would look especially frail against the team that popularized the style more than any one side in recent years. Dortmund was simply able to retrieve possession and turn it into chances on the break that much quicker than Spurs. The result seemed obvious before the contest even began.
Context, of course, is important to note here.
Those matches took place in the Europa League, a competition Spurs have famously under-regarded in recent seasons. On top of that, by the time these pair of fixtures took place in March, it seemed somehow possible that Spurs might be in the fight for the Premier League title.
Pochettino therefore felt some heavy rotation was necessary. Neither Harry Kane nor Kyle Walker started in either match, for instance, while many members of Spurs’ B team earned substantial minutes over the two legs.
In contrast, Dortmund — perhaps eager for some redemption after their previous season — played the strongest sides possible.
Tottenham will not be operating under quite the same limitations come Wednesday. Pochettino should name the strongest side available to him, including newcomer Serge Aurier and the well-rested pair Heung-min Son and Mousa Dembélé.
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That’s not necessarily a guarantee that Spurs will come out of the contest intact, but it puts them in a much stronger position than they were a year and a half ago.
They will have the added advantage of facing a Dortmund side crippled by injuries, which we will dig into a bit further in our upcoming opposition scout report.