Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest

Tottenham Hotspur bounced back to record their first win in four games this afternoon against Nottingham Forest, defeating Steve Cooper’s side 3-1 in North London.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

The Top Four Race – 

It seems the race for top four takes a huge twist every single week. This time, Liverpool dropped all three points to Bournemouth before Spurs picked up three against Forest.

That means Tottenham are six clear of the Reds, although Liverpool have a game in hand. Spurs are also just one behind Man United in third, although Erik ten Hag’s men have two games in hand.

Richarlison Redemption – 

Many would have expected Richarlison to remain rooted to the bench after his mid-week outburst, but he actually made the starting XI in place of Kulusevski. And what a game he had!

Unlucky to see his thumping finish chalked off for offside, Richarlison went on to win Spurs a penalty and assist for Heung-min Son in what was an impressive all-round performance.

The Brazilian was even allowed to play in his favoured number nine role, which could be the making of him if Conte can find a system that fits everyone.

Harry Kane Floating – 

With Richarlison occupying the number nine role, it allowed Harry Kane to float around wherever he wanted to be. The England captain even played as a right-winger at times.

Spurs knew they would have plenty of the ball and used Pedro Porro effectively to cover the space on the right, which allowed Richarlison to stay narrow and Kane to drift around.

This worked perfectly, as Harry not only dictated play with his passing, but also netted two goals of his own, similar to how he used to play under Jose Mourinho at times.

Fraser Forster Force – 

We are beginning to see that Fraser Forster is a no-nonsense goalkeeper. He can be guilty of pushing the ball out into dangerous areas at times, but his primary focus is always on making the initial save above all else.

He did that extremely well today, making at least three impressive and important saves in the 90 minutes, as well as a crucial penalty stop to prevent squeaky bum time. His best game in a Spurs shirt.

Ben Davies The Wing-Back – 

Yes, Pedro Porro was extremely impressive on the right and that is worth more than a mention. However, it is interesting that every good game Spurs have played in the past month has come with Davies at left-wing-back.

While it seems a strange mix, the Welshman offers a lot of quality on the ball and seems to time his runs in the final third to perfection.

It reminds me of the Jan Vertonghen left-back game against Dortmund where you feared the worst, but his style actually suited the position in a different way than traditional pacy wing-backs.

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