Tottenham Hotspur picked up a 2nd-straight victory in all competitions following a resounding 4-1 Premier League win over Aston Villa at home.
The London heavyweights made an unconvincing start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday. Villa took a 1-0 lead at the break after Morgan Rogers tapped home from close range.
The 2nd half was vastly better with Brennan Johnson levelling the scores in the 49th minute. Dominic Solanke put Spurs 3-1 ahead with a quick-fire double in the space of 4 minutes.
James Maddison put the gloss on the performance with a perfect free-kick to beat Emiliano Martinez in stoppage time.
Solanke got the plaudits after his stellar brace in the 2nd half, but manager Ange Postecoglou also levied praise on midfielder Pape Matar Sarr after playing an ‘important‘ midfield role.
Postecoglou said: “I rate him so highly. His capacity again to work for the team but also the quality he has in breaking open oppositions with his running with the ball. I knew he’d be important today because they’ve got such a hard-working midfield with Onana, Tielemans, McGinn in there, Rogers.”
Important
Sarr has been in-and-out of the starting plans of Postecoglou from the beginning of the campaign. Despite his inconsistent playing time, the 22-year-old has stood out with his performances on most occasions.
The midfielder was brilliant in the recent win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup 4th round, scoring a sensational winning goal from long-range. He did not contribute a goal or an assist versus Villa, but made his mark.
As per Sofascore.com, the former Metz youngster completed 92% of his passes against the Villans. He had the most touches than anyone on the field with 79 and he was brilliant with his line-breaking distribution.
Postecoglou said that he was going to be important against Villa and he repaid the manager’s faith. Sarr will now be aiming to cement his midfield berth by continuing his good run of form over the past few weeks.
Spurs have an away trip to Galatasaray in Turkey in the Europa League on Thursday evening. The London heavyweights have made a perfect start with 3 wins from 3 in Europe, but could face a stern test amid injury concerns.
