Tottenham player ratings vs Dortmund as Xavi Simons and three 8/10s save Frank | Football | Sport

January 20, 2026 3,399

Tottenham alleviated some pressure on under-fire manager Thomas Frank by putting 10-man Borussia Dortmund to the sword 2-0 thanks to a brilliant first-half performance. Spurs rise into the Champions League‘s top eight after securing just their second win in their last nine games across all competitions. Captain Cristian Romero put the home team in front 14 minutes in and before the half-hour mark, Daniel Svensson was controversially sent off for a foul on Wilson Odobert.

The Europa League winners took advantage to double their lead in the first half through a fortuitous Dominic Solanke goal. Dortmund were the top scorers in the Champions League before this week but Spurs saw out a welcome clean sheet at a rain-soaked Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to secure a much-needed victory. The result takes some pressure off Frank who was facing the sack if his side lost this match. Express Sport rates and slates the Spurs players…

A couple of shaky moments in the first 20 minutes but kept a clean sheet after saving well from Nico Schlotterbeck in stoppage time.

Helped thwart a dangerous Karim Adeyemi counter-attack at 0-0 and played a nice one-two with Wilson Odobert for the second goal. Was influential going forward and had more touches than anyone else on the pitch. Wasted a late counter-attack he might have scored from though.

The captain stepped up to help deliver a vital win. A good finish for his first Champions League goal in over five years and defended well. A real threat from set-pieces.

Really strong in the air on his return to the team. Has now kept two clean sheets in his last three starts.

A bit more reserved offensively than Porro on the other side but defended well throughout to protect the clean sheet.

Near perfect with his passing and good on the other side of the ball too. Important to Spurs’ dominating the game but booked for unnecessarily losing his cool with Julian Ryerson late on.

A solid showing, one foul in a dangerous area on the edge of the Spurs box aside, before being forced off with a knock. Yet another injury concern for Spurs.

A great performance down the right and comes away with two assists – the first a product of refusing to give up and the second a brilliant one-two and cross into Solanke.

Ran the show in the first half, impressing on the ball and off it. Pulled off some beautiful passes and crosses while running relentlessly. Should have had an assist from a terrific through ball to Randal Kolo Muani or from a late counter-attack that Pedro Porro spurned. Some wayward shots the only criticism.

Really dangerous in attack in a rare left-wing outing. Kept Yan Couto really busy while also putting in the hard yards defensively.

A fortunate finish but on the scoreline all the same – his first of the season. Otherwise on the periphery but his goal gave Spurs crucial breathing room. Rewarded his manager’s decision to axe Mathys Tel from the squad for him.