Tottenham handed manager Thomas Frank some respite as they dominated 10-man Borussia Dortmund in a 2-0 win that lifted Spurs into fourth in the Champions League table.
Frank’s position appeared untenable after a fan revolt following Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Premier League strugglers West Ham.
However, the Dane was handed a stay of execution and his players delivered a first home win since December 9 to quell speculation on his future for a few days at least.
Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke struck in the first half either side of Daniel Svensson’s red card.
Victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in next week’s final round of league phase fixtures should guarantee Spurs a top-eight finish and a place in the last 16.
Dortmund, by contrast, look destined to have to qualify for the last 16 via the play-off round.
Frank has only overseen two home wins in the Premier League as Tottenham have nose dived to 14th in the table despite a promising start under the former Brentford boss.
The Champions League has been a different story with four wins from four in north London.
Hampered by injuries and suspensions, Frank made five changes after the dismal defeat against the Hammers and was rewarded with a much-improved display.
Dortmund struggled all night to contain the threat of Wilson Odobert and Pedro Porro down the right with the former assisting on both goals.
The first came from a corner as Odobert drilled the ball back into the danger zone and Romero turned in from close range.
A poor start from the German giants was compounded when VAR intervened to instruct that Svensson’s misjudged challenge on Odobert be upgraded from a yellow to a red card on 26 minutes.
Solanke’s injury-ravaged season has played a big part in his side’s struggles.
The England international started for the first time under Frank and scored his first goal of the campaign despite not knowing much about it as Odobert’s cross rebounded in off his legs.
Dortmund had lost just once in 12 games since they were last in England -- a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in November.
Coach Nico Kovac showed his frustration at his side’s first-half showing with a double change at the break and the 2024 finalists at least stopped the bleeding in the second period.
Gregor Kobel saved from Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani to keep the score down.
Tottenham had already done enough to quell the fury among their fan base and give Frank another chance to prove his worth.
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