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Christian Eriksen is refusing to get carried away by Tottenham’s win over Borussia Dortmund to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals, insisting it is merely “a good first step.”
The Dane helped Spurs to win at the Westfalenstadion in the second leg, with Harry Kane scoring the only goal of the game, securing a 4-0 aggregate win over the Bundesliga leaders.
But Eriksen has his sights set on going deep into the competition, pointing to their substantial experience as key to their progress.
“We take one game at a time. We are through to the next round,” Eriksen said.
“We have had our experience from the last few games and the last few years in the Champions League and now we are this far.
Show all 22 1 /22Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Roman Burkl 5 Had nothing to do until he had Kane running straight at him, and he did not know how to react. Blameless for tonight’s defeat, although he may regret his performance at Wembley more than this one.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Marius Wolf 4 Summed up Dortmund’s evening. Full of energy, taking the game to Tottenham in the first half, urging his colleagues on. But whenever he had space down the right his delivery was dismal, at the moments that ended up costing Dortmund the game.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Manuel Akanji 5 Was heralded as making an improvement to the Dortmund defence, but in truth he did little to make the difference here. Could only watch as Dortmund wasted their chances, before Spurs scored from their first attack.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Abdou Diallo 5 Back when Dortmund were attacking early on in the game he went on one thrilling run down the left and set up Gotze, whose shot was blocked. Beyond that it was largely frustration that his runs came to nothing.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Raphael Guerreiro 5 Moved up from left-back into a left-wing role, he was meant to be part of Dortmund’s exciting front five but it did not quite work out like that as he could break through in that busy first half.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Axel Witsel 5 Has a big job anchoring the Dortmund team for five attackers in front of him but he did it well, setting the tempo with and without possession, clattering into tackles and encouraging his team-mates to do the same. But it was nowhere near enough.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Julian Weigl 4 The converted midfielder was useful on the ball, and nearly scored a clever little header, but was caught out when Kane ran in behind for the goal. Although the real defensive damage was done at Wembley.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Jadon Sancho 5 Not quite as dangerous as he was in the first half of the Wembley game. Got on the ball less often and did less with it, one flick here, one dart there, but looking for once like an inexperienced 18 year old. Has plenty more Champions League campaigns ahead of him to learn.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Marco Reus 7 How Dortmund missed him in the first leg. He was electric here, starting in midfield, running past players and threatening the Spurs goal. But he could never quite break through here. Still given a standing ovation when he went off in the second half.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Mario Gotze 6 Much deeper than in the first leg, he looked more comfortable getting the ball at his feet and moving it forwards. Nearly scored late in the first half only to be denied by Lloris’ left hand.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Paco Alcacer 5 Probably the quietest of Dortmund’s front five, he suffered because Spurs were forced so deep he did not have that much space to run into. Looked frustrated at times, but even more so as his team went out.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Hugo Lloris 9 Big game heroics. This tie was always going to hinge on Spurs surviving the early Dortmund storm. And his goal was peppered in the first half but he was at his agile best throughout, saving from Reus, Weigl and stretching to his left from Gotze. It was Spurs keeping this 0-0 that secured their passage, and they could not have done that without their keeper.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Toby Alderweireld 8 What a relief to Spurs that they did not find a buyer for Alderweireld last summer. Because his experience has continued to get them out of scrapes this season, especially in these two legs against Dortmund. Was vital here, organising the back line around him, making crucial blocks and headers, helping to hold off Dortmund in that crucial first half.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Davinson Sanchez 6 Had one or two nervous moments in the first half, as he did against Arsenal on Saturday. But he settled into the game, showing again the speed and aggression that means Pochettino keeps trusting him in these big games. Clearly still learning every week.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Jan Vertonghen 9 Like Lloris, he stood firm in the face of the Dortmund storm, and without him Spurs would not have survived. His positioning was immaculate but one big tackle on Reus will always stand out.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Serge Aurier 7 Surprisingly preferred to Kieran Trippier for this game, he did not let anyone down. That might not sound like much but for Aurier it is progress. Was a reliable part of Spurs’ back five, making every tackle he needed to. Tried to attack down the right but none of them ever came off.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Ben Davies 7 Sometimes Spurs wingbacks have to attack with width but here he just had to dig in and defend, part of their solid back five. But he did it well, winning every tackle, never letting Sancho get in behind him, playing his own important part in this huge team win.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Moussa Sissoko 8 We knew he could put the yards in, but who expected him to do this? It was Sissoko’s perfectly weighted through ball that cut Dortmund open to secure progress for Spurs. Without that goal it might have been a very different evening.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Harry Winks 6 Spurs did struggle at the start but Winks settled into the game and by the end of the first half he was more involved, passing and moving, giving them something they lacked on Saturday. Unfortunate to be forced off with injury soon after Kane’s crucial goal.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Christian Eriksen 8 The more influential he became, the more settled Spurs were. He was their only player who could take a second on the ball and play a pass but as he did so they started to take the sting out of the Dortmund pressure. And out of possession he moved out onto the right of Spurs’ 5-4-1, doing the hard pressing work that not every creative genius likes to do. Never looks out of place even on a stage as grand as this.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Heung Min Son 6 Not his best game but he never stopped running, trying to stretch Dortmund with his runs and put them under pressure. Always reliable for tireless contributions to the team cause, as he showed here.
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Player ratings from Dortmund vs Tottenham Harry Kane 8 Barely got a touch in the first half, but who cares? He only needs one chance. He sent Spurs through with his first real opening, four minutes into the second half. Running onto Moussa Sissoko’s through pass, he took just enough time to gather himself and put the ball into the top corner. That is what Harry Kane is all about, delivering for his team in the biggest moments.
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“We have come a long way and we have done very well to stay consistent. Now we are further than last year so it is a good first step and I hope we go further.”
Eriksen did admit Spurs were “lucky” to avoid conceding in Germany.
“We needed the luck today to keep a clean sheet,” Eriksen added. “Again in the second half we started to play a bit of football and we saw what the possibilities were.
Eriksen admits Spurs have only taken their first step (AFP/Getty Images) “Of course they play very offensive so of course they don’t want to defend either. In that period there were a lot of spaces to play, we could even have played better some times.
“I think we did show some maturity to come back after the first half which we played was really poor. Of course the first goal killed the game really. It was a blow to them and a big boost to us. Now they had to score a lot of goals to go through.”
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