Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has heaped praise on Jan Vertonghen during the club’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 stage. The Belgium international was entrusted to play in the left wing-back role in the injury absence of Danny Rose and Ben Davies, and he made the opportunity count with a storming second half performance.
The experienced defender initially provided an inch-perfect cross for Heung-min Son to open the scoresheet at the beginning of the second period and he thereafter edged the tie in Spurs’ favour with a goal of his own. As such, the Belgian has been plenty of plaudits for his showing and Kane has joined in the praise by tweeting:
— Harry Kane (@HKane) February 13, 2019
Dortmund were certainly the better team during the first half of the game and Spurs managed to save their blushes with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in top form with key saves including a world-class one right before the interval.
However, following the break, the north London outfit were the better team on the field and they made the advantage count with three goals – the latter two of which came during the final 10 minutes, which have provided them with a healthy aggregate to carry forward for the return leg.
Meanwhile, Kane has been making good progress from the ankle injury over the past week and he stands a good chance of featuring at the Signal Iduna Park next month where Spurs should seal their progress to the Champions League quarter finals barring a stunning comeback from Dortmund.
Tottenham will have the forthcoming weekend off from competitive action after their exit from the FA Cup and the next game comes against Burnley in the Premier League on February 23. Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has previously indicated that Kane could make his injury comeback against Sean Dyche’s side.
