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Dortmund down Tottenham 3-0 in Europa League

Xinhua, March 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Marco Reus' brace helped Dortmund to beat harmless Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 on home soil at the first leg of Europa League's last 16 on Thursday.

The "BVB" laid a solid groundwork for the second leg after overcoming the visitors from north London thanks to the goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus.

Tottenham Hotspur gave a number of key players a rest and posed absolutely no threat for Dortmund's well-positioned defense. Thus, the hosts took the rein from kickoff to create goal scoring opportunities through Gonzalo Castro and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the opening period.

Dortmund's dominant display was rewarded with 30 minutes into the match after Marcel Schmelzer's pinpoint cross into the box found Aubemeyang, who head home the opener into the bottom right. Erik Durm nearly doubled the lead before the break but Tottenham defender Ryan Mason blocked the shot on target in the last nick of time.

Thomas Tuchel's men remained in control of the proceedings after the restart and started where they left off. Gonzalo Castro had the golden chance to double the lead instead he rattled only the outside of the right-post from sharp angle in the 51st minute following an Aubameyang rebound.

The "BVB" turned their dominance into a two-goal lead in the 61st minutes as Marco Reus hammered home Neven Subotic's header assist at the far post.

The uninspired visitors were unable to put up enough resistance, allowing Dortmund to triple the lead nine minutes later. Reus wrapped up his brace after a combination via Aubameyang and Castro reached the German international inside the box.

With the result, Dortmund remain unbeaten since December whereas Tottenham will have to turn around a 3-0 deficit in next week's second leg.

"We dominated the game. Nonetheless, with a better chance conversion we would have won with a higher result," said Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc. Endit