Tottenham’s fresh tactics have them on the verge of Champions League glory

A lot of Tottenham fans expressed dismay when they saw Mauricio Pochettino’s starting lineup against Dortmund, but the manager’s tactics were perfect.

Tottenham fans should know better than to question Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics at this point in his Spurs tenure. There was a lot of consternation inside the fan base when Spurs announced their starting XI v Dortmund, but the Argentine’s plan worked to perfection in his side’s 3-0 victory.

In fairness, it took a full half of football for Tottenham to get up and running. Dortmund were arguably the better side during the opening 45 minutes. The fact that the match headed into halftime scoreless was a slight win for the home side.

The second half was a completely different story. Spurs ran roughshod over Dortmund en route to three crucial goals. Tottenham still have work to do in Germany in three weeks time, but they should fancy their chances to get past their Bundesliga opposition with such a massive lead.

The biggest call Pochettino made heading into the fixture was to go with three centre backs. In particular, the decision to hand Juan Foyth his second Champions League start was seen as a bit of a risk. The young Argentine took a few too many chances with the ball, but overall he played a supremely confident match. The fact that Spurs were able to hold a high-flying side to zero goals is a testament to how competent Foyth played.

Deploying Jan Vertonghen at left back was also viewed as a bit unconventional. He’s played the position frequently for Belgium, but he’s almost always used as a centre back for his club. The left-footed veteran had a little trouble with Jadon Sancho in the first half, but he was absolutely dominant after the break. He played a beautiful cross into the path of Heung-Min Son for Tottenham’s first goal and then put an exclamation point on his performance with a sublime finish of his own in the 83rd minute. It’s quite possible Vertonghen is actually the best left back at Tottenham.

Pochettino’s last trick was to avoid the temptation to place his only healthy striker in the starting XI. Less daring manager would have felt required to trot Fernando Llorente out to lead their line. The choice to hand the forward duties over to Son and Lucas Moura wasn’t an Earth-shattering call by Pochettino, but he still deserves credit for defying convention.

Lucas didn’t have his best match but Son was absolutely electric. There’s now a legitimate argument to be made over whether or not the prolific Korean is actually Spurs’ second best player. That’s a debate for another day, but the fact that it’s a legitimate question proves just how far Son has come in recent months.

In the end, Tottenham are now heading into the second leg of the tie with a massive advantage. They owe quite a bit of it to their manager’s bravery. It was a tactical masterclass by Pochettino.