Welcome to our live coverage of this latest interrogation of the ‘Spursy’ condition.
Tottenham are away to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with a 3-0 first-leg advantage: only three sides in the history of the competition have ever overturned such a deficit.
Spurs, however, are in rotten form: Hugo Lloris’ penalty save on Saturday ensured they didn’t lose three straight-games.
In better news for Mauricio Pochettino, Dortmund are foraging for form too: they have won just one of their last seven games and have seen their lead at the top of the Bundesliga cut to goal difference.
We’ll also be across Ajax’s trip to the champions, Real Madrid. The home side have a 2-1 lead from a first-leg, but like Tottenham, are horribly out of form.
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Kick-offs are at 8pm.
Team news is coming up.
Team news
Harry Winks return to the Spurs midfield to displace the plodding Victor Wanyama, and he will add some guile to a central area also featuring the, eh, plodding Moussa Sissoko.
Trippier and Rose are swapped for Aurier and Ben Davies, while Dele Alli is still not to feature.
#THFC: Lloris (C), Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Eriksen, Son, Kane.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 5, 2019
Latest odds from @WilliamHill πhttps://t.co/DZNOyGhv0Q#COYS βͺοΈ #UCL pic.twitter.com/P6AY5muSYZ
Here’s the Dortmund team, meanwhile, in weird Harry Potter-style font.
They are significantly stronger than they were in the first-leg: Marco Reus is back, while Akanji and Weigl should firm up that hopeless Wembley defence.
π¨ #BVB STARTING XI π¨
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 5, 2019
They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named β‘οΈ#BVBTHFC pic.twitter.com/Qs872ZVuOA
At the Bernabeu, meanwhile, Ajax arrive with a 2-1 disadvantage against a side that has never failed to defend that scoreline at home.
In better news for the Dutch side, Madrid are missing Sergio Ramos through his deliberate suspension, while Gareth Bale’s plight continues: having been booed off after an anonymous display against Barcelona, he is on the bench tonight.
π Our starting XI tonight! #RMUCL | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/w1T2njISXY
— Real Madrid C.F. π¬π§πΊπΈ (@realmadriden) March 5, 2019
Frenkie De Jong starts for Ajax, at a ground he is going to get used to as a Barcelona player from next season.
FULL SQUAD. π¨#UCL #reaaja pic.twitter.com/JVqmZ54oM5
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) March 5, 2019
Some interesting news from German football earlier today: Jogi Loew has announced that he won’t be considering 2014 World Cup winners Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller for selection from now on.
Full details here.
We briefly interrupt this football broadcast to bring some big breaking news from Irish sport – Irish women’s hockey coach Graham Shaw – whose achievement in leading Ireland to last year’s World Cup final saw him named RTÉ’s Manager of the Year, has just resigned.
Full details from The42′s Ryan Bailey here.
Ajax may soon be losing Frenkie De Jong to Ajax, but hey, they sure have some talent coming through to replace him…
This is just outrageous pic.twitter.com/EXS5lr7KJV
— FourFourTwo β½οΈ (@FourFourTwo) March 5, 2019
Kane; Unable.
With seven minutes to kick-off, a reminder of the permutations tonight:
Tottenham lead Dortmund 3-0 from the first-leg, meaning that the German side will have to score three times without conceding to force extra-time. If they let in a goal, they’ll have to score five. Even Spurs, etc…
Ajax, meanwhile, need to score twice at the Bernabeu as they trail 2-1 on aggregate.
You’ll Never Walk Alone ringing around the Westfalenstadion before the sides come onto the field.
The Yellow Wall is a heck of a sight.
‘Spurs might get beat tonight but they’ll definitely go through’ reckons Harry Redknapp.
A reminder that VAR is in operation across these games tonight.
Kick-off!
Dortmund need goals – at least three of them – so have stacked their attack: it features Reus, Gotze, Alcacer and Sancho. Expect a ferocious start…
Boos from the stadium as Spurs hog the ball for the first minute.
Three at the back again for Spurs. One of them – Davinson Sanchez – does well to match Sancho for pace and the put the ball out for a throw in. From that, Dortmund win a corner off Christian Eriksen.
Sissoko does well to clear said corner, but a subsequent throw-in sets Sancho flying down the touchline. His pullback finds Marco Reus, but Alderweireld hacks clear.
GOAL! Real Madrid 0-1 Ajax
Well, well: what a start for Ajax as Hakim Ziyech collects a Tadic pass to slot past Courtois. It’s now 2-2 on aggregate, and Ajax need one more goal to go through, and they have lots of time to find it…
Back in Germany, Dortmund have continued to have all of the ball as they probe the Spurs defence.
The ball breaks to Sancho in the box but he fails to pick out Reus in the box, and instead prods the ball tamely wide.
Jan Vertonghen: What. A. Tackle. Reus finds space in the box, and just as he’s about to pull the trigger, Vertonghen slides in to pinch the ball. He even managed to hack clear while lying on the ground. Superb.
Reus caught narrowly offside as he drifts in from the left-wing. Dortmund are switching play reasonably effectively so far, trying to exploit space behind the Spurs’ wing backs, as we’ve seen Liverpool and Man United do this season.
Dortmund pass the ball about in front of Spurs to little effect, but eventually hoik the ball over the top for Alcacer, who peels off Sanchez and spoons the ball over the bar, but he’s offside.
GOOOOALLLL! REAL MADRID 0-2 AJAX
Wow, wow, wow! Ajax have the second goal they need, and it’s only taken 18 minutes! This time from David Neres, again set up by Dusan Tadic. My word, as it stands – they are going through and Madrid, inveterate winners of this competition, are going OUT.
Back to Germany – Marco Reus wriggles into the penalty area, and his shot clips Sanchez but is kept out by Lloris.
Diallo weaves into the penalty area for Dortmund, but rather than whipping the ball near the front post, he chooses to cut the ball back to Gotze, fully 25 yards from goal. The shot was tame and Spurs deflect it away.
It’s all Dortmund thus far, but Tottenham are holding firm. The home side are finding joy on the flanks, but have yet to thread the right final pass. If they do so, Spurs will be sweating at half-time…
Meanwhile, in Madrid:
Before tonight Madrid had never conceded two goals in the first 18 minutes of a Champions League game at the Bernabeu - via @OptaJose
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) March 5, 2019
Back in Spain, Madrid are (reluctantly) turning once again to Gareth Bale, as he comes on to replace the injured Lucas Vasquez. Can he rescue them in this competition again!?
Oh-la-la: take a look at Dusan Tadic’s roulette and assist for Ajax’s second goal against Madrid. Pity he never laid on those kind of chances for Shane Long.
What A beauty From Tadic ..Wonderful Assist πππππ€ pic.twitter.com/Nnje0KtQJ3
— The Duke (@Atwelltongofa) March 5, 2019
Chance Spurs! Eriksen slips the ball behind the Dortmund defence for Son, who races clear…and prods the ball wide. It’s their first sighting of goal, and that was a chance to kill the tie.
Real Madrid managing an embarrassing exit from Europe before the United Kingdom. Fair play.
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) March 5, 2019
Great defending by Spurs! Reus’ point-blank header is saved by Lloris, and the follow-up is heroically blocked by Ben Davies!
Lloris! Superb save to claw away a curling Gotze shot form inside the box: it was destined for the top corner. Dortmund have had 9 shots, 70% of the ball, but Spurs manage to cling on!
In Spain, Madrid are a total shambles at the back. An unmarked Ziyech forces Courtois into save from a corner, while minutes later his cross narrowly misses Tadic in the box. They could honestly be four down.
Dortmund keep on pushing forward: Sancho’s shot is batted away by Lloris; his low cross less than a minute later is put behind by Jan Vertonghen, who is having his Richard-Dunne-in-Moscow night so far.
Better from Spurs – Son and Kane link-up to force a corner from Weigl.
Eriksen’s corner hit the first Spurs man in the box and goes behind for a goal kick.
Spurs are in full on defence mode, with Eriksen playing wide-right in a 5-4-1. Dortmund were finding joy behind the Spurs wing-backs, so Pochettino has moved to shore that up.
Switching briefly to Spain: Gareth Bale shows the Ajax defence a clean pair of heels and his chip over the goalkeeper clips the post. If anyone is going to rescue Madrid – in Ramos’ deliberate absence – it is most likely to be him.
Spurs are defending pretty well but they are doing very little going forward, and are taking about as long to construct attacks as they are their stadium.
Alcacer curls a long-range effort into Lloris hands. Given they need three goals…Dortmund are already running out of time.
In fairness to Spurs, they have been much better at keeping the ball in the last couple of minutes, in spite of doing little with it. The onus is on Dortmund, however, so this has been a mature performance so far.
Dortmund have the hint of a counter-attack but Sissoko comes across superbly well to rob the ball from Sancho.
Half-time: Dortmund 0-0 Spurs; Real Madrid 0-2 Ajax
Spurs have their clean sheet intact in Germany, and as it stands would have to concede thrice in the second-half to face elinination. They are in a much, much better position than Real Madrid, who trail Ajax 4-3 on aggregate. If they don’t score in the next 45 minutes, they are heading OUT.
Real Madrid’s defence is a rickety shambles without Sergio Ramos, missing tonight as a result of the biggest booking backfire since Garth Brooks was put down for five nights at Croke Park.
Second-halves are back underway!
Pochettino decides against changing anything at half-time.
In Madrid, Marco Asensio flashes a vicious curling shot wide of the post. They have started with considerable intent.
GOOOALLL! DORTMUND 0 -1 SPURS
Spurs lead through Whoelsebut Harry Kane! Assisted by Moussa Sissoko Offallpeople! Kane runs onto a through ball from the midfielder, and curls the ball in. Spurs are 4-0 up, and now have to concede five to go out. Even they should be safe now. We’re switching primary attention to Madrid now, but will continue to keep you updated with every key moment from Germany.
In Madrid, Ajax’s threat hasn’t gone away: Neres and Ziyech have forced saves from Courtois. This game is so open. It’s fantastic.
π₯ @HKane becomes Tottenham's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) March 5, 2019
β’ HARRY KANE 24 goals
β’ Jermain Defoe 23
β’ Martin Chivers 22
β’ Mark Falco 13
β’ Alan Gilzean 13
β’ Martin Peters 13@SpursOfficial #BVBTOT pic.twitter.com/dfwf1FregH
Daley Blind heads clear a Benzema cross. If he goes onto win this competition, he will emulate his father, and it will be the lesser-known case of Blind following the Blind.
A last-ditch block by Kroos belatedly curtails another Ajax through. They just sauntered down the Madrid left-flank. They are a mess!
Oooof. Benzema tricks his way past an Ajax defender, but close to the end line, he can only curl the ball wide of the far post.
Ajax right-back Mazraoui fires into the side-netting after being picked out by Tadic, who is running this game in a No.10 role for Ajax. He has been sensational!
Right, half an hour to go: Spurs are 4-0 up on aggregate and heading into the last eight. And, as it stands, Ajax are too…Madrid need one goal to force extra-time.
GOOOOOALLLLLLLL!!!! REAL MADRID 0-3 AJAX
After a lengthy, lenghty VAR stoppage to check if the ball had been out of play in the build-up, we can confirm…..TADIC! The playmaker takes the ball from Van de Beek in the penalty area, he shifts it to his left foot and curls it perfectly into the top left-hand corner. Madrid are in a world of trouble.
Madrid are sinking into a kind of mega-crisis. They have looked a total mess at the back without Ramos, who took a deliberate booking in the first-leg at 2-1 up, assuming Madrid were through and so as to avoid missing the quarter-final. That was incredibly presumptuous!
Bale finds loads of room in the box but can only shoot tamely at Onana with his weaker right foot.
In Germany, Dortmund have brought on Pulisic and Jacob Bruun Larsen for their full-backs, but they haven’t really carved out a chance.
GOAL! REAL MADRID 1-3 AJAX!
Madrid are back in it. Marco Asensio sweeps a gorgeous shot off the right-hand post and into the net. A wonderful goal, the latest in this bloody brilliant game.
PERMUTATIONS: Madrid need two more goals.
GOOOOOALLLL!!! REAL MADRID 1-4 AJAX
This. Is. Incredible. Ajax score again! Lasse Schone takes a free-kick on the left-wing…and whips it over Courtois and into the net! The big goalkeeper was caught off his line, and just as Madrid had clawed their way back into this, Ajax stomp their fingertips and they have fallen away again!
PERMUTATIONS UPDATE: Madrid need three goals. Again.
Amid the madness in Madrid – Tottenham are still calm in Dortmund. Here’s the Harry Kane goal that looks to have sealed their progress:
Here's the Harry Kane goal that has killed off the tie in Dortmund!
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 5, 2019
Just loves scoring goals that fella...#BVBTOT #UCL #VMSport pic.twitter.com/tS5rBxDaHP
Madrid have been rocked by the fourth goal, and have created nothing. Instead, they are coming to terms with the sort of nightmare, trophyless season that will spell the end of a few Bernabeu careers. And a major transfer splurge in the summer…
Enjoy Tadic’s goal here:
The DuΕ‘an TadiΔ goal that put Ajax 3-0 up.
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) March 5, 2019
VAR was needed over the 1st pass in the move. Do you think it was over the line? The goal stood!#RMAAJAX #UCL #VMSport pic.twitter.com/iG1XSOWInA
Schone made way for Ajax just after scoring, as did earlier scorer David Neres. Bale heads over for Madrid.
In Germany: Christian Pulisic spurns a big chance by heading over when he was unmarked. Thomas Delaney has replaced Marco Reus: a white flag if ever there was one.
Huge chance Madrid! De Jong slips up in midfield, Madrid race away in a three-to-one, Modric’s pull back for Benzema is ruined as the latter slips, while Bale’s effort is blocked by the Ajax ‘keeper.
De Jong has been regal in midfield, but that was his first mistake of the night….and he got away with it.
Courtois learns what it’s like to be David Seaman as he is caught out by Schone’s free-kick.
Ziyech! It should be 5-1 to Ajax:a horribly loose pass in midfield by Madrid goes to Tadic on the left-wing, he scoots the ball across the box to Ziyech, who manages to spoon the ball over the bar from three yards out.
Casemiro troops off for Valverde.
If this was 7-1, it wouldn’t flatter Ajax.
The Bernabeu is emptying out pretty quickly. Meanwhile, poor Gareth Bale might be injured again: he leaped for the ball and came down awkwardly on his ankle. He is limping about. If he does come off, at least there’s hardly anyone left to boo him off.
Bale can hardly walk. Even in this enormous nightmare for Madrid, Bale has managed to carve out his own, additional misery. Sums up the season for him.
In Germany, Hugo Lloris has capped an outstanding performance with a one-on-one save from Alcacer. When he’s good, he is very good…
Red card Nacho! The Madrid picks up a booking for a foul on Van de Beek, and is then booked again seconds later for a petulant reaction. Madrid’s heads: gone.
FULL-TIME: Dortmund 0-1 Spurs (agg 0-4)
What an achievement by Tottenham: they are into the last eight in Europe. Having withstood a first-half barrage from Dortmund, Harry Kane’s second-half goal killed the tie and they saunter on.
FULL-TIME: REAL MADRID 1-4 AJAX (agg 3-5)
WOW. The holders, and winners of four of the last five European Cups, are out having been humiliated at home by the magnificent Ajax. The inquest will be long and unholy in Madrid, but for now let’s herald the winners: they were truly wonderful tonight, with Ziyech, De Jong and Tadic all utterly superb.
A disappointment too for Sergio Ramos, who will miss the opening game of next season’s competition…assuming Madrid qualify.
Thanks for following are game-hopping liveblog: reaction and fallout from a superb night of football is on its way on The42.
