Five things we learned from Tottenham 2-0 Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League

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Thomas Frank may be under pressure, but Tottenham are back to winning ways after a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Let’s take a look at five things we learned from Tottenham 2-0 Borussia Dortmund:

Huge win for Thomas Frank after sack rumours

Thomas Frank came into Tottenham vs Dortmund in ‘critical danger’ of losing his job. It felt very much like a Champions League defeat would spell the end of the Dane in N17, but how different a win looks. Frank seems guaranteed to stay in the dugout for Burnley away now. A win there, and who knows what kind of run Spurs can go on.

It was nice to see not just the celebrations among the Tottenham players at full-time, but also how much the result meant to Frank and his staff. After a week of tough rumours for the former Brentford man, his coaches were full of congratulations on the touchline. Will Spurs fans end up looking back on this as that weird moment they almost sacked Thomas Frank? Or will it simply delay the inevitable?

Tottenham burst into the Champions League top eight

Tottenham would have gone into tonight’s fixture with the aim of breaking into the top eight of the League Phase table, and the automatic qualification that comes with it. Not only did they tick that box, but they even managed to jump into the top four!

Of course, there is still a second set of fixtures to come on Wednesday night, but it seems unlikely that Tottenham will head into the final matchweek in anything lower than fifth or sixth. A win away to Eintracht Frankfurt on January 28 and the Lilywhites are automatically through to the knockouts!

Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7

A glimpse into the future of Tottenham’s midfield

Thomas Frank’s hand was forced somewhat this evening in terms of his midfield choices, naming an all-teenage duo of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. While you get the sense that the youngsters are still too raw to regularly start next to one another in the Premier League, it certainly felt like a glimpse into the Lilywhite future. It’s not the first time we have seen the pairing either, with Gray and Bergvall earning a 3-0 home win over Burnley in the first game of the season.

While Palhinha is a superb defensive midfielder, Gray has far more of an eye for line-breaking passes, while Bergvall is always full of energy, drive, and creativity. Unfortunately for the Sweden star, it appears yet another injury may prevent him from taking part against Burnley again this weekend. Ange Postecoglou singled out Gray and Bergvall during his time at Spurs, and their dovetailing combination against Borussia Dortmund certainly shows why.

Return of Dominic Solanke is massive for Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur have missed Dominic Solanke. Forget about the strange goal (which will surely do him the world of good), Solanke’s build-up play and link-up play was incredible this evening for Spurs. While Richarlison has been solid in front of goal, the Brazilian is guilty of going missing in certain games. Randal Kolo Muani, while full of running, struggles to hold the ball up and has shown little in the way of killer instinct in terms of goals. Solanke makes the players around him so much better, and when he can do that while scoring goals of his own, Tottenham will become so much more dangerous in attack.

Tottenham fans vote with their feet

It may have been an important victory for Spurs in the Champions League, but Tottenham fans made their feelings clear on Tuesday evening. If you cast your minds back to the last time Dortmund and Spurs went head-to-head in the Champions League, Spurs sold out Wembley for their 3-0 home leg. In fact, for a club of Tottenham’s size, you would expect European tickets to be like gold dust.

However, with ticket prices as high as they are and Spurs in dismal form this season, the Lilywhites had an attendance of just 52,713 this evening, despite having a capacity of 62,850. Win or lose this evening, the Tottenham fans are not happy with the ownership or the standard of performances this season. Unless things improve consistently, expect more Spurs protests on the way.