Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 3-0 victory over rivals West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday evening, making it nine points from a possible 12 so far this season.
Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from West Ham 0-3 Tottenham:
Xavi Simons gets an assist on Tottenham debut
Tottenham Hotspur fans were treated to a Xavi Simons full debut at the first time of asking this evening, with Thomas Frank throwing the new man straight in at the deep end. However, after all the talk about Spurs signing a new number 10 over the summer, Xavi actually started as a left-winger, with Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall starting as a pair of number eights.
While the Dutch international did have a few bright moments, cutting inside with the ball at his feet, it does look as though he will need a few weeks to get up to speed with the relentless pace of the Premier League. Having said that, Xavi walks away from his Spurs debut with an assist to his name after he curled a beauty of a corner onto the head of Sarr at the back post to open the scoring.
We would expect to see Xavi eventually settle into a more conventional number ten role, with the likes of Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel, and Wilson Odobert playing wide left.
Tottenham Hotspur from corners
Under Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham were criticised for looking too vulnerable from corners. Under Thomas Frank, the script has been flipped. Guglielmo Vicario knows only too well how difficult it can be for a keeper to defend his box while being pushed and shoved by man-mountain centre-backs. Tottenham are simply dishing out what they have eaten up for the past 12 months.
With Romero and Van de Ven both crowding out the keeper, it allows Kudus and co to float menacing crosses deep into the box without fear of them being easily claimed. Tottenham nodded one home through Romero himself, which was wrongly disallowed, before Sarr got on the end of another at the back post. Combined with the long throws and wicked crossing from Pedro Porro, Spurs could be a real danger from set plays this season.
Cristian Romero is loving life as captain
Talking of Romero, the Argentine is taking to life as captain like a duck to water! The armband seems to have calmed him down and focused him even more this season. I have never seen him so vocal at the back, constantly ordering his defenders around in pursuit of that all-important clean sheet. Four games down and the Lilywhites have conceded just one single goal, despite playing away to both Man City and West Ham already.
Not only is the defensive side of his game looking impeccable, but Romero is fast-becoming one of Tottenham’s chief creators. Forget about his goal today (I still have no idea how that was ruled out). Just look at his assist for Bergvall’s goal! It reminded me of prime Toby Alderweireld seeking out Dele Alli with a long clip into the box. Romero also opened up the West Ham defence with a delightful through ball to Brennan Johnson late in the game that should have resulted in a goal.
Lucas Bergvall has such a high ceiling
What a player. In the first half, Lucas Bergvall worked extremely hard, but things didn’t necessarily click for the Swede. He still has a lot to learn about positioning in a number eight role, and his insatiable appetite to hunt down the ball can often leave gaps on the break. However, that kind of knowledge will naturally come with age. In the second half, Bergvall grew into the game and looked like a different animal.
When Spurs are on the front foot, Bergvall is near-impossible to play against. He chases you down, he glides across the turf with the ball at his feet, and he is much, much stronger than opponents often give him credit for. That Dele Alli-type run unlocked the West Ham defence at a perfect time for Spurs to take control of the match, and his neat footwork in the box shortly after provided an assist for Van de Ven to put the result beyond doubt.
I know Joao Palhinha is world-class, Pape Sarr is an engine, Rodrigo Bentancur is back in form, and Tottenham need a creative force like Xavi Simons in the midfield… but Bergvall is well on his way to making himself undroppable.
Thomas Frank has an embarrassment of depth
Tottenham fans may have criticised the summer transfer window, but that squad is looking mighty healthy right now. Let us remember, Mathys Tel is not even in the Champions League squad, yet he started today in the Premier League. Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Destiny Udogie, Kevin Danso, and Brennan Johnson all came off the bench today.
Randal Kolo Muani was an unused sub. Rodrigo Bentancur was an unused sub. Archie Gray was not in the squad. Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski will all return at some point from their respective injuries. There is still work to be done, of course, but Thomas Frank has an embarrassment of riches to choose from at the moment.