Jan Vertonghen was superb as Tottenham Hotspur put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Paul Merson has told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (broadcast on 16/2; 13:23) that he thought that Jan Vertonghen’s career at Spurs may be coming to an end before his stunning Champions League performance.
Vertonghen stole the show on a night where almost every member of Mauricio Pochettino’s side had a claim for the man of the match award. Tottenham put one foot in the quarter-finals of the competition as they thrashed Borussia Dortmund 3-0 at Wembley on Wednesday.
Vertonghen – who was playing at left-back – scored one and provided a delicious cross for Son Heung-min. It was a stunning performance from the Belgian, and Merson admitted that he was surprised by it after thinking that the 31-year-old was almost finished after Spurs’s Carabao Cup defeat to Chelsea last month.
“I watched him in the semi-final at Stamford Bridge the other week, and I thought he was coming towards the end if I’m being honest,” he told Sky Sports.
“I watched him and he looked tight round, he couldn’t really move, he wasn’t agile and so fair play to him. I thought he was absolutely outstanding [against Dortmund].”
Spurs are hitting form at the perfect time. They have won their last four in all competitions and have a fantastic chance to put themselves in the last eight in Europe.
And with a number of their key players, as well as Vertonghen, finding some real form, there appears to be a genuine opportunity for Tottenham to do something special this season – especially as they also have players to come back from injury in the near future.
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