Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham: 5 Talking Points

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

Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League

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.