Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham: 5 Talking Points

Tottenham came from a goal down to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1, and advance to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League as group winners.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the first half, latching on to a magnificent flick from Andriy Yarmolenko, but Spurs turned the match around after the break.

First, Harry Kane slotted home from the edge of the box in the 49th minute, before Son Heung-min clinically finished a chance created by some fine work from Dele Alli.

Here are 5 talking points from Signal Iduna Park:

#5 Tottenham win Group H in style

Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League

Tottenham were extremely disappointing on Saturday, when they performed meekly in a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the first North London derby of the Premier League campaign.

In the aftermath of that game, there was much talk of Mauricio Pochettino's underwhelming record against fellow big-six opposition away from home - one win in 17 - and Spurs desperately needed to respond on Tuesday night.

This was the perfect way to do just that. Tottenham started slowly and deservedly fell behind to a goal from Aubameyang, who had already spurned a presentable opportunity after being played through by Yarmolenko.

Spurs grew into the game, though, and in the second half, they ruthlessly took advantage of Dortmund's haphazard defending through Kane and Son, with Christian Eriksen and Fernando Llorente failing to convert fine chances of their own.

In recent years Premier League sides have been accused of naivety in continental competition, but that charge cannot be levelled at Tottenham.

Pochettino's men have demonstrated great maturity in the Champions League this season - not least in their previous victory over BVB at Wembley back in September - and that quality was on show again here.

#4 Dortmund's problems mount as winless run continues

Peter Bosz's men have now failed to win in five matches, while their only success in their last eight encounters came against a third tier outfit in the DFB-Pokal.

Although their fate in the Champions League was as good as sealed, heading into matchday 5 - a victory for Real Madrid over APOEL would eliminate Dortmund regardless of the outcome at Signal Iduna Park - BVB knew they needed a strong display to ease the pressure on Bosz.

In the first half an hour, it looked as if they were going to get it. Dortmund moved the ball well and created two excellent opportunities, one of which, was dispatched by Aubameyang in the 31st minute. As time went on, however, Dortmund looked increasingly nervous and began to give up clear-cut opportunities, while also failing to create them at the other end of the field.

The Bundesliga outfit are clearly low on confidence at present, and their fragile mentality proved to be their undoing in this one. With the derby to come against Schalke this weekend, Bosz will need to pick his players up as soon as possible.

#3 Pochettino's decision to select strong side pays off

A few eyebrows were raised when the team sheets were released at Signal Iduna Park, with Pochettino naming a strong side despite the fact his team had already qualified for the knockout rounds.

Even if they lost in Germany, a win against APOEL at Wembley in their final encounter would have been enough for Spurs to progress to the last 16 as group winners.

The Argentinian head coach may have initially planned to shuffle his pack for Tuesday's match, but his thinking was perhaps altered by the nature of Saturday's defeat by Arsenal; the need to bounce back from that painful loss was significant, which is perhaps part of the reason why Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all kept their places in the starting XI.

The decision paid off, as Tottenham beat a strong opposition on the road and recaptured that winning feeling, which will only bode well ahead of upcoming Premier League meetings with West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City, Watford, Stoke City and Brighton and Hove Albion - all of whom can unquestionably be beaten by the Lilywhites.

#2 Dortmund were once again undone by defensive issues

Scoring goals has not been a problem for Dortmund this term; indeed, they have scored 29 times in 12 Bundesliga matches (only Bayern Munich have been more prolific, striking on 30 occasions) and have found the net in all five of their Champions League clashes in a tough group.

The problem, though, has been their goals record at the other end, with 16 conceded in the Bundesliga and 10 in Europe. Tellingly, Bosz's men have only kept one clean sheet in their last 12 matches in all competitions.

They were shaky again here, although frustratingly for their Dutch manager, individual errors were more of an issue than structural weakness. Having said that, Spurs did take advantage of the gaps that appeared in the second half, but Dortmund's players did themselves no favours against an excellent side.

#1 How far can Tottenham go in the Champions League?

Tottenham have done remarkably well to have qualified for the knockout rounds, topping group H, with a game to spare. When the draw for the group stage was made, many felt that Pochettino's side would be competing in the Europa League by February, but now, they are assured of a last-16 clash.

The question of how far they can go depends greatly on the draw; despite finishing first, they could still start as underdogs in the next round if they were to be paired with a team of the likes of Bayern Munich.

Monaco reached the semi-finals last term, though, and with a little good fortune on their side, there is no reason why Spurs cannot aim to replicate that achievement this season.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh