Defensive woes consume Dortmund ahead of Spurs return

Borussia Dortmund must remedy glaring defensive errors to have any chance of overturning a 3-0 first leg deficit when they host Tottenham in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.

"This is a phase we need to stabilise quickly or things will get very tight," said Dortmund captain Marco Reus after Friday's shock 2-1 defeat at Augsburg left them with one win in seven games.

On Friday, Dortmund's youthful back four of Abdou Diallo, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Manuel Akanji and Achraf Hakimi, all under 23, failed to cope with an Augsburg side fighting relegation.

Hakimi, whose blunder contributed to the heavy defeat at Wembley when he failed to mark Jan Vertonghen for Spurs' second goal, was again found wanting.

The right-back's lazy pass was pounced on by Ji Dong-won for Augsburg's stunning second goal after a slip by centre-back Zagadou had led to Ji netting the first.

"We practically scored their goals ourselves due to two individual mistakes," added Reus, who will lead Dortmund's attack against Spurs after four weeks out with a thigh strain.

After drawing 1-1 at home to Arsenal on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs are winless in their three games since beating Dortmund.

However, Dortmund's record of just one win in their last seven matches in all competitions hints at plummeting confidence in their youthful ranks.

The last of the nine-point lead Dortmund held in the Bundesliga last December was finally eroded on Saturday when defending champions Bayern Munich drew level. They are only second now on goal difference.

- 'Tear heads off' -
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