Thomas Frank may have just bought himself another game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur with a 2-0 victory against 10-man Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
MORE — Latest Champions League table
At this point of Frank’s first season at Spurs, the Dane is considered day-to-day. A defeat to Dortmund in the Champions League, where Spurs (14 points) now sit 4th in line for a place straight into the round of 16 (bypassing the playoff round altogether), and Frank might have been gone before Saturday’s trip to Burnley (10 am ET) in the Premier League. Now, though, Frank can point to the dominant nature of Spurs’ performance, even before the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute, as signs of progress.
For one of only a few times all season, Spurs pressed high up the field and with real intensity, and it gave Dortmund fits from the start. The Spurs fans were exceedingly supportive of the side, able to see the attacking intent after too many weeks and months of back-foot football. Wilson Odobert was a constant threat from the right wing and assisted both goals — the first to Cristian Romero and the second to Dominic Solanke. Daniel Svensson was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge to Odobert’s leg. 11 minutes later, Solanke scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0, and it was over.
Dortmund (11 points) currently sit 12th with one game left in the league phase.
What’s next?
- Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur — Saturday, 10 am ET
- Union Berlin vs Borussia Dortmund — Saturday, 12:30 pm ET
Spurs vs Dortmund live updates - by Andy Edwards
Spurs vs Dortmund final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Cristian Romero (14'), Dominic Solanke (37')
GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Dortmund: Solanke glances Odobert’s cross in for his first this season (37')
Dominic Solanke makes his first start of the season count with a fortunate finish for Tottenham ⚡️
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 20, 2026
Every goal from every game available for FREE on The Golazo Show — right now CBS Sports Golazo Network via the CBS Sports app 📲 pic.twitter.com/8alO0Z1XQK
RED CARD! Daniel Svensson sent off after putting studs in Odobert’s leg (26')
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Dortmund: Odobert finds Romero with a cross (14')
Cristian Romero with a perfect one-touch finish for Tottenham ⚪️
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 20, 2026
Every goal from every game available for FREE on The Golazo Show — right now CBS Sports Golazo Network via the CBS Sports app 📲 pic.twitter.com/SHmsVPXbRp
Spurs starting lineup
Vicario - Porro, Romero, Danso, Udogie - Gray, Bergvall, Simons - Odobert, Spence, Solanke
Dortmund starting lineup
Kobel - Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini - Couto, Bellingham, Nmecha, Svensson - Adeyemi, Brandt, Guirassy
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (January 20)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — North London
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
Following their shock 2-1 home defeat to West Ham on Saturday, Frank is under serious pressure with just two wins from their last 13 Premier League games. He has taken training ahead of this game but reports suggest Spurs’ hierarchy are considering Frank’s future given the poor results since he took over in the summer. Frank knew this job would be difficult but the lack of creativity at one end and huge mistakes at the other are adding up to a sorry state of affairs. But all of that aside, Spurs still have a chance to finish in the top eight of the Champions League and are level on points with Dortmund (11) as this competition has provided some solace for Frank.
After a tough couple of years Dortmund have rebuilt strongly under Niko Kovac. They have lost just once all season in the Bundesliga and in Serhou Guirassy they have a clinical forward who leads the line so well and there are so many talented attackers buzzing around underneath him. They have been involved in some incredibly high-scoring games in the Champions League and are the joint-highest scorers in the competition this season with 19 goals in six games.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Injuries are once again adding up as Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus are all out. Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons and Archie Gray are all struggling too, while Dominic Solanke’s return from long-term injury was the only positive from a poor display against West Ham at the weekend. Frank has tried to be pragmatic as Spurs boss but it isn’t working. Perhaps his best chance of success is to just open up and go for it?
Borussia Dortmund team news, focus
Kovac has Guirassy leading the line and Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyimi and Felix Nmecha all chipping in with goals. Marcel Sabitzer is tasked with controlling things in midfield but he’s out injured. Anyway, Dortmund will hope to cause chaos with balls directly up to Guirassy and then feast on Spurs’ defensive problems.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
This is going to be a wild one. I’m going for Spurs to somehow get the job done and thrive in the chaos. Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Borussia Dortmund.
