Tottenham Hotspur were hardly at their best on Saturday, but Ange Postecoglou’s side still managed to secure a 4-1 victory away to Ipswich and achieve their first three-game winning streak in the Premier League this season.
IPSWICH 1-4 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - Highlights, recap & analysis
Ipswich had every opportunity in the world to beat Spurs for the second time this season, but Lady Luck was undeniably on the visitors’ side in this one. Liam Delap could have had a hat trick inside 6 minutes on another day, but it was Brennan Johnson who opened the scoring with a first-half brace before Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski put the game to bed near the end, just when it looked like another late collapse could be on the cards. Spurs’ goal difference now stands at +15 in the PL — 4th-best, behind only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City — and Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are expected to return from injury within the next week or two.
Ange Postecoglou reaction — What did Spurs boss say after win away to Ipswich?
“They’re one of the hardest working teams in the league. You know you’re going up against a battle and a contest — we had to do that today. First half, we could have done better. We allowed them some moments, but in the second half we dug in.
“That allowed us to execute and play our football. When you come to a place like this, the crowd creates some energy. We had to weather that storm.”
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“We were always a threat. Sonny was unplayable in that first half. So great to get Brennan back. He scores so many goals for us in those areas.”
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“The fact that we can throw people on from the bench who can contribute — I could give Madders [James Maddison] and Pedro [Porro] a rest today. Everyone gets a boost. From our perspective, these last two weeks have given us a breather and reset our football. I’m pleased the boys have embraced it.”
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"[Kevin Danso has] been great for us since he came in. He’s really taken to the club, taken to the group of players, taken on the challenge. It’s not easy when you’re coming into a new club and we’re asking him to come in and almost be a senior member. We still had three teenagers out there starting today, and a fourth coming on. It’s still a really young team. I think Kevin’s been a super addition for us.”
Brace scorer Brennan Johnson, on Spurs’ 4-1 win over Ipswich
“We have always tried to believe. When we have all the players back, we won the last two Premier League games and that’s something we wanted to keep in mind. We played good football, but also defended well.”
“With more experienced players, they have had to deal with these games when we’re 2-0 up, but then concede one. When we have these experienced players back, we know how to get onto the ball.”
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“They beat us last time and that was in our heads because we didn’t want to lose today. It’s Tottenham Hotspur — we want to be as high as we can. We want to get right up the league.”