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Tottenham Hotspur took a giant step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a second-half blitz of Borussia Dortmund, as Son Heung-Min, Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente scored apiece to take a 3-0 lead to the return leg.
Following a cagey first-half with neither sides creating too many good chances, the Lillywhites broke the deadlock just 47 seconds after the break as Son tapped home Vertonghen's cross before the Belgian centre-back doubled the lead just seven minutes from time.
The hosts were sailing towards a comfortable victory, before Llorente came off the bench to add the finishing touches, tapping another sitter to deepen Dortmund's woes, who now need to repeat the trick of the Atletico Madrid thrashing to have any chance of progressing.
Here are the major talking points:
#1 A tale of two contrasting halves
This tie was touted to produce plenty of goals, given the attacking ensemble on show and also their recent domestic runs. But the sloppy and lacklustre opening half offered no great shakes.
Die Borussen even though started on the brighter note, couldn't muster clear cut chances and gradually faded towards the end of the first-half.
Spurs, despite firing a blank, were gaining momentum by slowly opening up Dortmund, but it was only after the break when they could strike the first blow.
Vertonghen, playing in an advanced midfield role, demonstrated his menacing attacking intent when he scampered down the left wing and beautifully picked out an unmarked Son inside the area. The South Korean deity made no mistake from five yards.
It marked the beginning of the downfall of Lucien Favre's men as they then spent a majority of the half on the backfoot, subjected to a barrage of attacks from the spirited hosts.
It was only a matter of time before they widened the deficit, and Spurs did it in the most clinical fashion to put Dortmund to the sword.
A possible dead-heat ended up in absolute demolition.
#2 Jan The Man
Tottenham Hotspur's prospects appeared to be bleak without target man Harry Kane and midfield metronome Dele Alli, both of whom were ruled out through injury.
Responsibilities on the likes of Son and Christian Eriksen thereby broadened as they were expected to step up. And step up they did, but it was Vertonghen who snaffled the centre-stage and plonked his self upon it.
The towering Belgian was, first of all, played out of position. He isn't a left back, and certainly not a midfielder.
But manager Mauricio Pochettino's brave decision to play him on the left side of the midfield bore sweet fruits as the 31-year old looked at home and put on a talismanic display.
He initially struggled to get to grips with Dortmund's pace and guile, but soon found his footing.
In the second-half, Vertonghen fully liberated himself, and just 47 seconds into the restart, whipped in a perfectly-weighted cross for Son to nudge in. He was a reckoning force down that flank thereafter, as most of Tottenham's opportunities stemmed through him.
The Belgian won four tackles on the night and completed 86 percent of his passes, but frosted the cake with a goal of his own when he stormed inside the area by stealing clear of a Dortmund defence in slumber and slammed home Serge Aurier's cross from almost point-blank range.
It may not be his greatest goal, but the predatory instincts to read the pass and the cutting edge to finish are some attributes that would put many strikers to shame.
Truly a world-class performance from the Spurs defender.
#3 Sancho was Dortmund's sole shining light
On a night when Lucien Favre's swashbuckling squad looked uncharacteristically sloppy and came a cropper, teenage sensation Jadon Sancho continued to shine bright and provided the spark to keep the cogs turning.
The 18-year old Londoner's homecoming may not have ended in a way he was expecting, but pulled a blinder all alone with his intricate passing and attacking presence.
He heckled the Spurs backline with his mazy runs, whilst also supplying the creative juices in the absence of Marco Reus. He completed three dribbles and also maintained an admirable 81 percent pass success.
Sancho had his rubber stamp on whatever good Dortmund could manage. However, he wasn't helped much by his teammates, who were largely subdued.
His passes were perfectly placed, but no one to bury it. He brought Dortmund back in the match time and again with his mazy runs, but the others around him looked clueless.
More support from the rest of the team might have seen him net a crucial away goal or two. But Sancho nonetheless, impressed on his return to England.
#4 Hugo Lloris vindicates himself with a sterling showpiece
Tottenham's rocky road to the knockouts - defeats in each of the opening two games followed by a stalemate in Eindhoven - were dotted by some irregularities in goal by Hugo Lloris.
The French skipper, who played an instrumental role in helping Les Blues to the World Cup crown last summer, made an embarrassing blooper in the 4-2 loss to the Blaugrana and was also sent off in the 2-2 draw to PSV.
Suffice to say, his European adventure in the new season was far from straightforward. However, Lloris looked to be back in his usual self today, oozing great confidence in his conduct and pulling off a string of amazing stops.
The Frenchman had his hands full in the first half as Dortmund appeared to take the initiative. He had to intervene regularly to collect a backpass and also calmly claimed Achraf Hakimi's effort early on.
His highlights though, came towards the end when Lloris produced two remarkable saves to deny Pulsic from a tight angle, as well as Dan-Axel Zagadou from close range when the defender headed towards goal.
That was the closest Dortmund came in the first half, but thanks to Lloris, the tie was evenly balanced at the break. In the second half, even though he was more restrained and had little to do, was on hand to come forward and claim the ball out of danger.
Lloris never looked more at home in the Champions League this season. And the timing couldn't have been better as Spurs look forward to the quarter-finals.
#5 Cut Pulisic some slack, he remains a fine talent
In an off-day at the office for Christian Pulisic, the footballing Twitteratis mercilessly lampooned the American teenager for his poor performance and raised questions over Chelsea's £58 million outlay in his acquisition.
Starting on the left of Dortmund's three-pronged attacks, Pulisic largely cut a desolate figure, arguably because he was effectively marked out of the game by a vigilant Spurs defence.
Barely 15 minutes into the game, he also missed a great chance put his side ahead by firing it just wide off the post.
At other times, his crosses were blocked and runs were closely marked. Midway through the second half, he hampered Dortmund's potential counter-attack with a heavy touch to the ball as Davinson Sanchez gave the ball away.
So basically, everything that could go wrong for him did. And on a night which was largely seen as a precursor before his imminent arrival to English soil.
But to make a mockery of him or his talent after one poor game seems largely unjustified, for Pulisic has been a star performer for Der BVB in each of the last two seasons.
His versatility upfront has seen him play adeptly on either side of the field and one should not forget he's only 20. Pulisic is a raw talent that needs refining and his summer transfer to Chelsea may help do just that.
Please, cut him some slack.
