Jan Vertonghen has warned his Tottenham team-mates their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund is far from over.
The 31-year-old Belgian central defender played a pivotal role in Spurs inflicting a 3-0 defeat over BVB at Wembley ahead of the second leg in Germany.
Spurs 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: Five things to know…
- It was the fifth meeting between Spurs and Dortmund.
- The first half ended goalless with both teams each having four shots on goal.
- Spurs broke the deadlock two minutes after the break through Son Heung-min.
- Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente added two more goals in the final seven minutes.
- BVB welcome Spurs for the return leg on March 5, and Vertonghen believes the tie isn’t over.
Following a goalless first half, Mauricio Pochettino’s men sprang into action minutes after the interval through Son before Vertonghen and Llorente rounded off a stunning win late on.
It was another memorable European night for Spurs, who are hoping to reach a first Champions League quarter-final under Pochettino, but Vertonghen is exercising caution.
Having joined Spurs in 2012, the veteran has experienced plenty of highs and lows. Just one year ago, Tottenham looked in a good position, before Juventus pipped them to a quarter-final berth.
Vertonghen also pointed to a previous Europa League tie against Inter Milan in 2012/13, which Spurs managed to scrape through from. Back then Spurs won the first leg 3-0, in which Vertonghen also got on the scoresheet, before losing 3-0 at the San Siro.
Although the north London side would ultimately go through on away goals, winning the tie 4-1 after extra-time, the Belgian is keen not to see a repeat.
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“It’s certainly somewhere very high!” I’d say it’s in my top three,” Vertonghen told the club’s official website after being asked to rank his side’s performance against Dortmund.
“We’ve had some great nights at Wembley and at the Lane, some away games as well. We had the Real Madrid game last season but that was in the group stage and we all know what then happened against Juventus and we don’t want that to happen again.
“This result is massive for us. We’re still not finished because I can remember the Inter away game where we lost 3-0 and that can’t happen again.”
On the cusp of a European breakthrough
Spurs have given themselves a huge opportunity to establish themselves in European football’s premier club competition. Only twice before have they reached the quarter-final stage in European Cup history – including just once in the Champions League era.
Following their famous double-winning campaign, in which they lifted their last championship, Bill Nicholson guided Spurs to the 1962 European Cup semi-finals only to be beaten by eventual champions Benfica featuring a 20-year-old Eusebio.
The Lilywhites had to wait another 49 years before Harry Redknapp’s side reached the quarter-finals when they came unstuck against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Since the arrival of Pochettino their best performance has been last season’s last-16 exit against Juventus.
If they can hold their nerve and not allow BVB to mount an incredible comeback then it will prove to be yet another major psychological step undertaken by Pochettino’s side.
The post Vertonghen determined to avoid repeat of Inter comeback – “That can’t happen again” appeared first on Squawka News.
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