Football
Ben Pearce, Tottenham correspondent 5y

Tottenham 'mean business' in Champions League after win over Borussia Dortmund - Winks

Harry Winks has said Tottenham have shown the rest of Europe they "mean business" in the Champions League after their emphatic victory over Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Second-half goals from Son Heung-Min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente secured a 3-0 triumph in Wednesday's round-of-16 tie at Wembley, and Spurs are on course to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.

"We hope it's a statement, to show that we're up there, we mean business and we want to do well and go as far as we can in the Champions League," Winks said. "There's no better way of doing that than beating Dortmund 3-0 at home.

"We've been in the Champions League for the last couple of years so we're starting to learn what teams are like -- any small mistake gets punished, we have to be on it from minute one to full-time.

"We've learned a lot; we've taken a lot on board. We've watched games back in the past -- where we've lost -- and we've tried to take it on board.

"We've got to win the second leg before we can even look at how far we can go. But it's a great night, a great result going into the second leg and hopefully we can progress. Who knows how far we can go?"

Boyhood Tottenham fan Winks was 15 years old when Spurs played their last quarterfinal tie in the competition, against Real Madrid, and he remembers the night well.

"I was flagbearer, and I was there for Inter Milan at White Hart Lane," he said. "I watched the rest on telly.

"I've been in the stands and watched Spurs play in the Champions League many years ago, so to play and get the win [last night] and to do as well as we did makes it that little bit more special.

"It's up there with one of the greatest results I've had in a Spurs shirt. The magnitude of the game was higher. It was a big and important game so to get the result was fantastic for us, and I'm incredibly proud and delighted to be playing for this team."

Manager Mauricio Pochettino said that he showed his players video clips at half-time to remind them of the game plan, and his team talk quickly produced results as Son scored the crucial opener in the 47th minute.

"The manager told us what he thought we needed to do tactically to get on top, and it worked," Winks said. "It was just about when we went to press, it was to be more aggressive and be more compact.

"He wanted us, from the defenders to the attackers, to be as compact as possible and to press as a unit. That was the most important message he gave to us, and it worked.

"For us just to get the goal so early in the second half was important. It set the standard for us of what we wanted to do."

^ Back to Top ^