Llorente makes Spurs history under Pochettino on Premier League bow

“If you think about what we do for pre-season, we give the players 45 minutes in the first game and build from there to 60 minutes and then a full 90, but all he has played is 60 minutes”.

Last week, Tottenham defeated Everton 3-0 and Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in Champions League on Wednesday.

“I think it was clear that it was so important for us”.

While Lukasz Piszczek has been first-choice at right-back this season and Sokratis will assume the captain’s armband at centre-back, the left side of the defence is where Spurs should look to attack.

Swansea were looking to bounce back after losing at home to Newcastle in their last league match.

Kane’s impulse in front of goal was the distinction as Spurs were mainly required on the back foot by an excellent German side that controlled territory and also belongings. They should come out on top.

Leading the line will be Dortmund’s most potent threat – the goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Dortmund lost the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley, and Tottenham had been a woeful 1-8 in their adopted home stadium. Harry Kane hit the bar and was also denied by a one-handed save by former Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who miraculously kept out the striker’s flicked header from a corner at the near post.

The win puts Tottenham in the driver’s seat to finish second behind presumptive Group H winners Real Madrid.

He has been involved in a number of ugly incidents in recent times; including a year ago when he was banned for three games after punching Claudio Yacob in an off-the-ball incident against West Brom.

Although Mauricio Pochettino’s men huffed and puffed in the first half, they struggled to get into threatening positions and were largely limited to speculative efforts from distance.

Kane’s stock continued to rise last season when he managed 29 goals, despite playing just 30 games and beat Romelu Lukaku to be top scorer for the second consecutive season.

‘Maybe people will stop talking about hoodoos like they have been for the past year.