Five things we learned from Tottenham's 4-1 win over Ipswich Town

Tottenham Hotspur made it three wins out of three in the Premier League this afternoon, following up on victories over Brentford and Man United with all three points away to Ipswich Town.

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

Tottenham’s squad is looking stronger

Ange Postecoglou is finally getting his squad back together and now suddenly Tottenham are picking up points again. Funny that, isn’t it? A few weeks ago, the bench was filled with academy youngsters and goalkeepers. Fast forward to today and Ange was able to call on James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Yves Bissouma, Wilson Odobert, and Dane Scarlett. The difference is night and day!

Normally, Spurs would have slipped back further and further into their own half at 2-1, running out of energy long before the final whistle. Today, however, the substitutions added fresh legs and creativity to get the Lilywhites over the line, with both Maddison and Scarlett claiming assists off the bench. Long may it continue!

Time for a Djed Spence England call-up

I’m sure Spurs fans would rather the whole squad spent the international break next month at Hotspur Way instead of risking injury travelling around the world – but Djed Spence deserves this. With England lacking depth in the left-back position, and Spence able to play on either side, it makes a whole lot of sense for him to earn his first call-up in March. Gary Lineker believes Spence deserves an England call-up and even Ange Postecoglou hinted Spence is ready for international football.

Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images

Lucas Bergvall is coming of age in Tottenham’s midfield

Central midfield has arguably been the most disappointing position for Tottenham this season. It has been one of the most underperforming areas of the pitch, without even being decimated by injuries. Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur have both flattered to deceive for large parts of the campaign, while Pape Sarr is better when pressing from the front in a high-flying Spurs set-up. Thankfully, there has been one shining light and his name is Lucas Bergvall.

The young Swede was immense today and unfortunately, he will likely not get the credit he deserves with it being a 3 pm kick-off. Not only was he neat and tidy in possession, but he was willing to take players on in midfield and break the lines with the ball at his feet, which we haven’t seen nearly enough of this season at Tottenham. Let us remember that he’s still only a teenager too. Bergvall has so much potential and he is only going to keep growing with more minutes under his belt.

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Kevin Danso immense again for Spurs

It took Tottenham far too long to find a suitable backup to injury-prone Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero, but it seems like they have at least signed the right man. Kevin Danso is fast, strong, confident on the ball, and consistent in his defending – everything you need from a third or fourth-choice centre-back.

Unlike Radu Dragusin, his natural abilities seem to suit the Premier League and he is thriving under the challenge of Ange Postecoglou’s high line. Let’s not forget that his partners so far have been Ben Davies and Archie Gray too. Imagine how much better he would look alongside Van de Ven or Romero. On another day, without Danso in the XI, I sincerely think Spurs would have lost today. His work on and off the ball set the tempo and kept Tottenham heads above water.

Mathys Tel is in at the deep end

One man who struggled today was Bayern Munich loanee, Mathys Tel. Playing as the lone striker in the absence of Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, Tel is learning a rough lesson about how physical the Premier League is. Time and time again today, he either failed to trap the ball and bring others into play or simply got bullied out of possession by a centre-half twice his size.

That is no fault of his own, of course. Tel is still getting up to speed with English football. However, you can’t help but think he would feel his way into games a little more by playing out wide. Unfortunately, Spurs need to get one of Solanke or Richarlison back to do that first.

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