Refereeing decisions prove costly as BVB lose 3-1 at Tottenham

Boris Rupert reporting from London

The 67,343 spectators at Wembley Stadium – including 4,500 travelling Borussia Dortmund fans – witnessed an action-packed encounter in which BVB dominated the first period but fell behind when Son fired home for the hosts in the fourth minute. Yarmolenko levelled the scores seven minutes later, only for Kane hit back after a quarter of an hour and re-establish Tottenham's lead. Pulisic had a goal correctly disallowed on the stroke of half-time, but the Italian officials made the wrong call when they ruled out Aubameyang's goal on the half-volley in the 56th minute. Spurs capitalised, with Kane drilling home from what looked like an offside position to make it 3-1.

The scenario: 
Both the Premier League runners-up and the German Cup winners went into this game with seven points on the board in their respective domestic divisions, although Spurs needed one more game than BVB to reach that mark. Tottenham had only won one of their previous five home games at European level, while the Black & Yellows went into this one with an even record from their five previous matches in England (two victories, one draw, two defeats).

Personnel matters:  
BVB were without Schmelzer, Bartra, Reus, Guerreiro, Schürrle, Rode and Durm. Bosz had previously stated his intention to "use the players" at his disposal during the fixture pile-up over the next few weeks and that rotation began today, with the Dutchman making wholesale changes (five in total) for the first time in his tenure at the club. Götze, Castro and Philipp, who had all started the first three league matches, dropped to the bench and were replaced by Dahoud, Kagawa and Yarmolenko, who was making his full debut for the club. Toljan, another debutant, and Toprak made the starting XI in place of the injured defensive duo of Bartra and Schmelzer. Subotic had linked up with the squad after overcoming an infection but started on the bench.

Tactics: 
Tottenham, who started in a 5-3-2 formation, were happy to let Dortmund have the ball and restricted themselves to quick counter-attacks via Son or Kane. The two early goals really played into their hands. BVB, meanwhile, transitioned between defensive and offensive formations. Without possession they formed a 4-2-3-1 with Dahoud alongside – and sometimes behind Sahin – in defensive midfield, while Kagawa was given a free role.

The match & analysis:
Borussia Dortmund were caught napping early on in their 239th appearance in Europe, conceding for the first time this season after just three minutes and 44 seconds. The goal came from Tottenham's first foray forward of the match, the move starting when a Spurs player intercepted a Piszczek pass to Kagawa in his own penalty area and switched the play at speed. Kane picked out Son on the left wing, and the former Bundesliga forward outpaced Sokratis before netting the opener past Bürki from a narrow angle.

The Black and Yellows remained unperturbed, however, battling back and equalising a matter of minutes later courtesy of a spectacular effort from Ukraine international Yarmolenko, who received a pass from Kagawa before curling a shot into the top corner from 18 metres (11).

Tottenham re-established their lead four minutes later with another lightning attack down the left flank, although Kane might well have been penalised for the manner in which he tussled with Sahin en route to firing an unstoppable effort into the net (15).

Pulisic has goal ruled out for offside

Borussia Dortmund had over 70 percent possession in the opening 45 minutes and came close to scoring a second on three separate occasions. The first of those came in the 30th minute when Vertonghen got a toe to Pulisic's cross in towards Aubameyang. The Gabon forward then turned provider, finding Pulisic on the edge of the six-yard box, but the American was unable to steer it goalbound. The youngster did eventually find the net seconds before the interval, but the goal was disallowed as Aubameyang was offside and interfering with play at the moment the shot was struck.

Kane (50) and Son (52) both fired efforts over the BVB crossbar at the start of the second period, but the Black and Yellows fought their way back into the game and equalised through Aubameyang in the 56th minute. However, referee Rocchi ruled the goal out for offside despite the fact the striker was clearly onside when the ball was played. Four minutes later Kane received the ball from Eriksen and made it 3-1. Bürki's view may have been obscured by Piszczek's attempt to block the ball.

Aubameyang clearly onside for the disallowed goal

But BVB – who replaced Kagawa with Götze midway through the second half and later brought on Castro in place of Dahoud – had no intention of throwing in the towel and almost pulled one back in the 70th minute when Aubameyang latched onto Sahin's flick-on in the six-yard box, only to be denied by a sensational Lloris save. A goal at that stage would have set the match up for an entertaining finale, especially given Vertonghen's stoppage-time dismissal, but Borussia Dortmund were ultimately beaten and will leave London empty-handed. The Black and Yellows previously lost their UCL opener in 1995 (Juventus, 3-1), 2002 (Arsenal, 2-0) and 2013 (Napoli, 2-1), but reached the knockout stages on all three occasions.

Prospects: 
Borussia Dortmund's next European clash comes against Real Madrid in two weeks' time. But first up are three Bundesliga matches: home games against Köln and Mönchengladbach, as well as a trip to Hamburg in midweek.

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