Proud Poch praises players as heroes
LONDON • When Jan Vertonghen scored against Borussia Dortmund, he ran to the home crowd and did the "Superman" celebration - pretending to tear open his shirt.
His manager Mauricio Pochettino duly saluted him and his Tottenham teammates as heroes after the 3-0 Champions League last-16, first-leg win as they took a huge step towards reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.
Spurs had been under pressure as Dortmund dominated the first half but were sparked into life by a fine finish from forward Son Heung-min after the interval.
Defender Vertonghen capped his own powerful performance when he scored late, and substitute striker Fernando Llorente's goal put the seal on a remarkable result that had the Wembley crowd rise to their feet in a loud, emotional salute.
Insisting his players deserved all the praise after emerging from a gruelling schedule, Pochettino said: "It was a fantastic game, a massive effort. My players are heroes. They deserve a lot of praise for the effort they are doing this season.
"Sonny was fantastic again. He translates good energy and his performance in every game is improving. We're so happy.
"3-0 is a very good result, but we must go to Dortmund (on March 5) with the idea of winning. There is a lot of work to do."
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Tottenham's Son Heung-min has been directly involved in 16 goals in his last 12 matches in all competitions (11 goals, 5 assists).
It was an impressive success for Pochettino given he was without the injured Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Ben Davies.
Credit has to be given to the Argentinian's managerial alchemy, inspiring his men at half-time, encouraging them to go for the jugular.
He also got them to get closer to Jadon Sancho, subduing the English midfielder in the second period.
The Londoner Sancho, blessed with so much pace, balance and remarkably mature decision-making for an 18-year-old, was on the right, having to deal with Vertonghen's ventures from wing back. But he was always quick to attack, whipping in a couple of threatening crosses.
Christian Pulisic was over on the left, stretching Spurs, causing Serge Aurier problems. Chelsea fans would have been impressed by the burst of speed and direct running of the American, who will play for them next season. In one such sudden break, Aurier could stop him only by grabbing his shorts and was deservedly cautioned.
Not until the second half did Spurs show real adventure, more energy and precision.
So many good individual displays spiced Spurs' second-half performance. Centre-back Vertonghen, played out of position to good effect, was immense at left wing-back, playmaker Christian Eriksen started to grow into the game and the key man was Son.
This was his fourth goal in successive games and it came as a welcome riposte after all the pressure that Spurs had endured from the lively Sancho in the first half.
One moment the South Korean was chatting to Dortmund captain Mario Gotze as the teams prepared to restart, and the next he was scoring.
With the goal, Spurs were almost unrecognisable from the first half.
They looked like far more intelligent, incisive, heavyweight European campaigners. And Son's excellence continued with good passes and then running shrewdly into space for Eriksen to pick out.
"The first half was very difficult. We didn't feel the confidence to play," said Pochettino.
"At half-time, we showed them a few situations that could have been different. We tried to help the team make the right decisions and perform in the best way.
"Maybe today everyone will say it was a fantastic decision. If it was a different result, people might say I'm the worst coach in the world."
THE TIMES, LONDON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
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