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Radu Dragusin’s early red card did not halt Tottenham’s recent run to form as they defeated Qarabag 3-0 on their Europa League return.

Goals in both halves from Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke saw Ange Postecoglou’s men secure a hard earned victory after being reduced to ten men five minutes into the match.

Qarabag missed a penalty early into the second half after missing a couple of great opportunities in the first as they return to Azerbaijan empty handed.

Here are five things we learnt from the match…

Dragusin howler will not help chances to start

Radu Dragusin’s Tottenham career just has not got going. Not overly convincing in the games he has played, and when trying to get ahead of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero in the pecking order, having constant off days is the last thing he will want. Tonight was a chance for the Romanian to impress and assure Ange Postecoglou that he can be trusted in the big games. Five minutes in and his match was over, miss-controlling the ball before bringing down the Qarabag forward and getting his marching orders.

Johnson’s hot streak continues

Brennan Johnson continued his new found form as he made it three goals in three games for Spurs. The winger, who has been subject to abuse which led to him deleting his social media, calmly slotted past the Qarabag goalkeeper 10 minutes in after brilliant work from Dominic Solanke in the buildup. It was exactly what Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham needed after Radu Dragusin’s sending off five minutes earlier.

Sloppy Spurs saved by poor Qarabag finishing

Tottenham were for larger periods of the match the far more dominant side, but Qarabag showed the north Londoners the quality they do possess on their day. The Azerbaijani’s were much more confident on the ball than their hosts, and were it not for poor finishing could have walked away from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with a point or maybe more. Instead, they let Spurs off the hook and left with a loss.

Mixed fortunes for Spurs’ 18-year-old stars

Tonight’s match was another opportunity for Ange Postecoglou to unshackle some of the young talent he has at his disposal, but Dragusin’s early sending of meant this would not be the case for Swedish star Lucas Bergvall, who was the unlucky recipient, being subbed off in the aftermath. His frustration was clear to see on the TV screens, but the same can’t be said for Archie Gray, who put in another assured performance at right back. The former Leeds youngster formed a good relationship with Johnson on the right hand side in a fullback role that is not his natural position.

Vicario shines when Spurs need him most

The scoreline between Tottenham and Qarabag does not tell the whole story, with the visitors causing their hosts a whole load of problems throughout the match. But Guglielmo Vicario was on top form for Postecoglou’s men, pulling off vital saves and timing his decisive actions perfectly when Spurs needed composure during the tough periods in the match. Strong in the air, sharp in decision making and brilliant in his shot stopping, it was a great display from the Italian.

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Micky Van de Van is loving life under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.

The big Dutch defender, man of the match in Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Everton on Saturday, embodies what Postecoglou is trying to do at Spurs – build a team of versatile players who are prepared to play off the cuff and try out new stuff.

Van de Ven’s 80 yard run from box to box to set up Heung Min Son for Tottenham’s fourth goal against Everton showed just what he can do. His first season in the Premier League proved he was the fastest player in England, a commanding defender, clever reader of the game and smart finisher, with a couple of spectacular goals under his belt.

He also has a selfless team ethic that kicked in when he decided to pass to Son, the club’s leading scorer and a deadly finisher. Asked what was going on in his mind when he set off from the edge of his own penalty area, the 23-year-old said: “I was thinking I’ll keep running, hopefully nobody can stop me, and nothing happende. -one did. I knew Sonny was on my left so I kept driving and driving until I got to the centre back and then at the right moment I played it for Sonny to finish.”

Was he tempted to shoot? “No. Sonny was there and I knew he would finish it off.”

It was Van de Ven’s name the crowd sang in celebration, though. “They loved that moment, yes. When I was dribbling with the ball you could sense everyone in the stadium was getting really hyped and I was like ‘nah, now I’m going through’ and then it all went off.”

Postecoglou is far from rigid in his tactics and actively encourages this sort of off-the-cuff stuff from his players. “Ange gives us the possibility to do this, to dribble. He never likes the centre-backs to stay behind (the lines). He trusts us, like everybody else in the team, to do what we want to do. It is really important for us that we feel that trust and have the confidence to do it.”

Critics predicted Postecoglou’s patient, possession-based game – Angeball, as it is known – would be found out in his second season, and last Monday’s frustrating 1-1 draw at Leicester suggested an inability to break down a stubborn defence despite dominating and creating plenty of chances.

But the smart Aussie is always looking for new avenues in attack and is prepared to mix it up. They still whip in numerous crosses from both wings, but now look to play more though the middle, try the odd long-ball over the top, and even in Van de Ven’s case, transition quickly from defence into attack.

All four goals had different origins. Yves Bissouma, back from a club-imposed suspension for off-field misdemeanours, scored the first goal after excellent teamwork, Son’s first came from relentless pressing to pounce on a Pickford error, and Cristian Romero headed home a James Maddison corner to make it 3-0.

Postecoglou wants his team to be more flexible and multi-dimensional. “It’s what we want to evolve into. We had Kulusevski playing in midfield today, Sonny scored a goal through the middle and another when he went out wide.

“We looked a threat from varied areas and even set pieces. If we’re going to turn compelling performances into consistent results, you need to have more than one avenue of attack. I thought we showed that today.”

Van de Ven agrees. “Yes, like Ange said, we can play down the sides, through the middle and two or three balls from Cuti (Romero) to Maddison were really dangerous.

“We need to reach another level this season – last year we were fifth, so it was a good season, but we want more. We want to win a trophy, that’s clear.”