Tottenham Hotspur’s resurgence continued at Villa Park, and while the result itself mattered most, individual displays from several Spurs players have not gone unnoticed following a crucial win in their fight for survival.
Tottenham Hotspur look to have picked up form at just the right time as they continue their fight to avoid relegation.
With three games left to play, Spurs’ run of two consecutive wins after going 118 days without a single victory has seen them come out of the relegation places and move into 17th place.
However, while results are what matter at this stage, Tottenham’s latest win over Aston Villa on Sunday was not only the perfect result, but also featured a couple of standout performers.
Tottenham see Conor Gallagher earn team of the week recognition
Rodrigo Bentancur was superb in the pivot role, bringing some much-needed composure and control for Tottenham.
Richarlison, who grabbed the second, was equally as good, as were Mathys Tel and Destiny Udogie. In fact, Glenn Hoddle believes that most of the players were a 9/10, which showed just how good they were.
However, one Spurs man has continued to earn the plaudits for his display against Villa, and that is Conor Gallagher.
The former Chelsea man opened the scoring, but it was not just the goal – his energy, tenacity and pressing also caught the eye.
Following that standout performance, Troy Deeney included Gallagher in his team of the week column for BBC Sport. Explaining his decision, he said, “I was going to put James Garner in there, but Gallagher gets it for me because the game was even more important for Spurs.
“Big goal. He has had a tough time there but with Roberto De Zerbi and the philosophy of pressing and running hard, I think that makes Gallagher an unbelievable buy for Spurs. He will not only be good this year but for the coming years.”
Spurs Micky van de Ven and Mathys Tel earn praise after Villa display
It was not just Gallagher included in the former Premier League striker’s team of the week, as he was also joined by Micky van de Ven and Tel.
Writing about the Dutch centre-back, Deeney highlighted his impact at the back and his leadership qualities.
He wrote: “In a game they had to win, he came up big in the win at Villa. Nothing they could do with the last goal from Emi Buendia.
“He got back a few times with his pace that we all know about. Big tackles, and was just a real leader – which I have not been able to say much about him.”
Tel, who came into the side for the injured Xavi Simons after his ACL injury last time out, was also impressive, grabbing an assist for Tottenham’s second while sticking to his wing duties.
Deeney reflected on the forward’s recent improvement, and added: “I thought Tel was arguably the most overrated player that Spurs bought, but since the turn of the year he has had a light switch in his head that says ‘hold on, I was at Bayern Munich and now I could be playing in the Championship’.
“He stepped up. He has played big minutes in terms of carrying the ball forward, being an outlet and now is adding assists to it. That cross for Richarlison was a striker’s dream.”