Son Shines as Tottenham Drops Dortmund

Call Heung-Min Son the wanderer.

With Harry Kane still on the shelf and Dele Alli right there with him, the South Korean international stepped up big time in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-0 Champions League Round of 16 first leg triumph over Dortmund at Wembley.

It didn't help der BVB that Marco Reus was out with an injury, too, and even though his teammates had their share of strong moments, they were nowhere near enough.

 

Son was listed as a center forward in Spurs' Starting XIplaying, but he didn't limit himself to that role.

Dude also patrolled both wings and on occasion dropped back in his own half to do a bitta ball hawking. He was a human Swiss Army knife.

 

The Germans opened by being full-out aggressive, while Tottenham were surprisingly more cautious on their own -- albeit rented -- ground.  Die Borussen threatened  France's international 'keeper Hugo Lloris through Christian Pulisic and Dan-Axel Zagadou but wound up with nothing to show for it.

Right after the break, the Spurs side Mauricio Pochettino knows, loves, and nurtures showed up.

A mere two minutes into the second half, Son changed the tone. Jan Vertonghen received a pass on the left, crossed it to him, and he volleyed it home:

 

That was worth the price of admission.

It definitely seemed to shock Dortmund, and Spurs morphed into the dominant side.

 

That kept Dortmund at bay until the 83rd, when Spurs piled on.

Vertonghen met Serge Aurier's awesome cross and popped it past Roman Burki:

 

Three minutes later, it was a wrap.

Substitute Fernando Llorente nodded home a Christian Eriksen corner, and dudes had compiled an imposing lead to take into the return leg:

 

Son and Vertonghen showed that -- if they can duplicate this effort consistently -- Tottenham will be gaining the sorta depth that will serve its challenge to the Premiership title well.

Right now, it's aiding the club's Champions League cause in impressive fashion.