Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham sent out a real statement on Saturday evening with victory away at Manchester City. Not only did Spurs collect the three points on offer in Manchester, they hit their opponents for four in what was a convincing 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
Tottenham have endured a mixed start to the 2024/25 campaign in the Premier League but their latest victory highlighted just how dangerous and prolific they can be when everything clicks into place. Such an important game for the team after their dreadful 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich Town just prior to November's international break, Spurs were coming up against a Manchester City side who had lost their last four games in all competitions.
Having a good couple of openings inside the first 10 minutes through Erling Haaland, City found themselves 2-0 down after 20 minutes courtesy of James Maddison's double. The midfielder, upon his return to the starting XI, opened the scoring with a lovely volley from Dejan Kulusevski's inch-perfect delivery, before doubling his tally with a cute dink over Ederson following Son Heung-min's reverse ball.
Taking a 2-0 lead into half-time at the Etihad Stadium, it was to get even better for Spurs seven minutes after the restart with Pedro Porro finishing off a flowing move involving Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke. City had their opportunities to get back into the contest in the closing stages but Guglielmo Vicario and his defence stood firm and delivered heroic performances to totally nullify the reigning Premier League champions.
It was to get even better for Spurs in stoppage time as Brennan Johnson was once again in the right position to convert at the back post from Timo Werner's cross. Werner had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes after replacing Maddison seconds before the 90th minute.
It was the German at his very best as he seized upon Jack Grealish's loose pass to breeze beyond Kyle Walker and cross the ball for his teammate to finish off. Former Tottenham right-back Walker is known for his blistering pace but Werner made light work of him by sprinting beyond him with ease to get into such an inviting position to tee up Johnson.
At a time when many Tottenham players would have naturally darted over to the goalscorer to celebrate, Kulusevski and Djed Spence, who had also come on at the same time as the left-sided player, immediately went straight to Werner, who at that point was sat on the ground, to congratulate him for his role in the team's fourth of the night. The reaction from the duo spoke volumes about the great play from the 28-year-old.
More praise was to come Werner's way following the full-time whistle as Yves Bissouma went up behind him, grabbed him with both arms and lifted him in the air. Son then made a beeline for him after congratulating a number of teammates on his way towards the jubilant away fans.
TV cameras picked up on the South Korean with his arms raised above his head applauding his fellow attacker as he quite clearly noted Werner's big contribution and wanted to commend him for helping Tottenham wrap up the game in style. The pair shared another touching moment as the team walked off the pitch after the 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
Footage from the stands showed Son walking next to Werner with his arms wrapped around the player and head resting on his shoulder as they exited the field. The experienced attacker then let go of Werner for a couple of seconds before once again putting his arm over his shoulder and then hitting him on the chest a number of times.
That wasn't the end of it as Son, who had a huge smile on his face, got his teammate in a playful headlock and gave him a pat on his head. Werner's season to date may not have entirely gone to plan but his moment with Son just highlighted how popular he is in the camp and that everyone was so pleased to see him make a big contribution on what was a truly memorable night for the club.
Speaking to SPURSPLAY after the game, Postecoglou hailed the "14,15 warriors" on the pitch who helped Tottenham record such an eye-catching result.
“I thought with the way the game was going to go that Madders was going to be important for us," he explained. "Deki always causes City problems out wide. They want to defend one-on-one and Deki is unbelievable in terms of his running capacity when he’s faced up against an opponent.
"I thought today was about the collective, not the individuals, we had 14, 15 warriors out there who played with real courage and conviction and it’s credit to them.”
Hopefully Tottenham's statement win at Manchester City on Saturday evening is a sign of things to come over the next few months as Spurs compete on four fronts.