Tottenham vs. Borussia Dortmund: 7 Spurs lessons

Tottenham can glean some valuable lessons from their Europa League loss to Borussia Dortmund

Tottenham looked better at White Hart Lane yesterday in the 2-1 Europa League loss to Borussia Dortmund, but it wasn’t nearly enough to help Spurs advance. The only thing Spurs can take from the match are the valuable lessons of a painful defeat.

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Fortunately, we are here to make sure the entirety of Tottenham’s fan base can gain some knowledge. We don’t want the team, fans, or anyone associated with the club to suffer from a lack of education at the hands of Dortmund. Without further delay, here are the top seven things Spurs learned in the latest loss to the German giants.

1. Nabil Bentaleb is done

What a difference a year makes. Last season, Algerian midfielder Nabil Bentaleb was one of the first names on Mauricio Pochettino’s team sheet. This year, he can’t sniff the field in a hopeless Europa League tie. Barring a drastic change in attitude and circumstance, count on Tim Sherwood’s love-child playing somewhere else next season.

2. Tottenham has to spend significant money this summer

Daniel Levy has our permission to avert his eyes here. The significant difference in quality and depth between Tottenham and Dortmund was easy to see during both legs of the tie. Spurs aren’t just one world-class player away from being on Dortmund’s level, it’s more like three or four successful purchases.

3. Pochettino needs really athletic fullbacks

For some of you, this won’t be a revelation. It’s obvious that Tottenham plays its best football against elite competition when the duo of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are in the starting 11. You could see an obvious shift in the match when Rose took the pitch for the injured Ben Davies. It wasn’t enough to get Spurs a result, but it was an improvement in their ability to attack.

4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a bad man

Tottenham learned a lesson that the rest of the Bundesliga has known all hyper long. Aubameyang is a world-class striker. He may march to the beat of a different drummer, but he’s an absolute beast to deal with. If Dortmund decides to sell him this summer, expect to see a massive transfer fee.

5. Son Heung-Min is not a Champions League striker

I’m planning a separate piece on the Korean attacker soon so I’m not going to give everything away here, but he was totally out of his depth against Dortmund. His gifted goal will cover up his ineptitude for some fans, but not me. He gave the ball away like Santa gives away on Christmas Day.

6. Harry Kane is Tottenham’s only striker

I must confess I was optimistic that some combination of Nacer Chadli and Son Heung-Min could cover for Harry Kane on a limited basis. Both legs of the Dortmund encounter showed this is simply not the case. That duo might be able to play as a striker against a weak Premier League side, but they can’t hack it against top-shelf competition.

7. Toby Alderweireld is world-class

It wasn’t all bad news for Tottenham on the day. Alderweireld was an absolute stud at the back for Spurs. He was the one man who deserved better than the score line. He barely put a foot wrong all day, and of course, executed an amazing spin on the ball to escape trouble. Other transfer purchases will get more attention, but Alderweireld has been one of the Premier League’s best buys.

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7 Tottenham conclusions from the loss to Borussia Dortmund

By Rucker Haringey | Mar 18, 2016