Here are our Tottenham talking points following their 4-0 victory against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night
For once Tottenham weren't sent in as the medical aid as instead Dr Copenhagen helped their compatriot Thomas Frank and his team get back on track.
For all the talk of XG, a lack of shots and bravery in the miserable defeat to Chelsea, Frank's team roared to their biggest win yet under the Dane, albeit against a side from his homeland that was far more obliging than anyone expected.
For Spurs scored four goals, two of them while with 10 men, and had 14 shots at goal with six on target while taking 35 touches in the Copenhagen box. Tottenham also hit the crossbar twice through Richarlison with efforts that bounced down on the wrong side of the line, one his late penalty.
Frank has been waiting for his attacking players to click and with Copenhagen giving them the space to operate, Tottenham's attackers began to find their way.
The goals began on 19 minutes with Xavi Simons curling an inch-perfect pass into the run of Brennan Johnson. The Wales international showed exactly what he brings to the team with a touch past the goalkeeper before an exquisite finish from out wide and outside the box into the empty net for his first Champions League goal.
Xavi has been used sparingly in the Champions League so far by Frank when it likely would have been a better gradual introduction to life at Tottenham with the European pace and tempo he is used to.
The Dutchman revelled in the extra space Copenhagen gave him and created two big opportunities for Randal Kolo Muani that were spurned before the break.
The French forward made amends six minutes into the second half. With his ever-improving fitness the 26-year-old chased down a long Pedro Porro ball and got a foot to the keeper's attempted clearance which sent it spinning high up into the air.
Kolo Muani brought it down with a delightful cushioned touch and picked out Wilson Odobert to slide home his first goal in the competition.
The progress looked like being ruined by a tough decision on Johnson. His bright night came to a premature end when referee Erik Lambrechts was advised by the VAR team to go to his monitor to watch the Spurs man's tackle on Marcos Lopez which caught the Copenhagen player's heel.
The 57th minute red card should have brought a nervy finale for the home side but up stepped Micky van de Ven with one of the best Champions League goals you'll see just seven minutes later.
Joao Palhinha used his strength to win the ball back for Spurs on the edge of their box and the Dutchman picked it up and he ran and he ran and he ran, leaving Copenhagen players in his wake like a speedboat cutting through water.
There was no hesitation either with the finish, curled inside the left-hand post to spark wild celebrations from everyone with a Tottenham connection. Van de Ven's close friend Guglielmo Vicario raced the length of the pitch to leap on his shoulders.
There were shades of Gareth Bale and Son Heung-min about Van de Ven's moment of physical superiority and it has to be up there with the best goals, let alone Champions League goals, scored by a centre-back. Many can run at pace, but precious few can do so with the ball at their feet throughout and then finish like that.
The 10 men of Spurs were not done yet though, for Cristian Romero was feeling left out of the fun.
When the hosts broke again three minutes later, Odobert made a terrific interception and flew up the pitch to find the Argentine had set off like a rocket alongside him. The Spurs captain kept his composure when the ball reached him and fired it across for Palhinha to slide home via the keeper's hand.
Even Van de Ven admitted after the game: "When I saw Cuti there on the counter attack, I thought 'hey, what is he doing there?', but he stayed calm and he gave a perfect assist to Joao."
There was still time for academy product Dane Scarlett to enter the fray and win a penalty after some good play to get into the box before he was tripped. The 21-year-old clearly would have loved to have taken the spot kick and Kevin Danso came over and gave him a big hug and kept his arm around his shoulder as the youngster realised seniority was going to prevail and Richarlison would be taking the kick.
The gods of football fate also appeared to be unhappy as Richarlison sent the resulting penalty crashing off the crossbar and down on the wrong side of the line, as he had done with a header not long before.
Had the Brazilian scored either chance it would have been Tottenham's biggest ever Champions League win.
It was still a fun night just when it was needed in N17 with the team and the fans back together again and it continued the bizarre contrast in Spurs' European and Premier League home form.
In the Premier League the north London side have won just three out of 19 matches in the past 12 months at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but in European competition the club are now unbeaten in 22 home matches stretching back to 2020 with 18 victories amongst that.
Only 49,565 turned up for this match, meaning around 12,000 people decided not to watch Tottenham on a big Champions League night. The attendance figure reflected not only the disgruntlement about the home performances of the past year but also the ticket prices that continue to price so many out.
The large sections of empty seats meant many missed one of the most enjoyable Spurs displays in a long time.
New Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham is spearheading attempts to improve the atmosphere inside the stadium and he was known for his work at Arsenal in trying to connect the club with its supporters.
Venkatesham's first season at Tottenham comes after years of disconnect and a feeling from fans that they were simply walking cash machines for the club rather than a key part of what makes it special.
The new supremo has a chance to build bridges again, as he has begun to do with various meetings with the supporters' trust and the fans' advisory board in his early months as well as his appearance at the fans' forum.
Tottenham fans fork out some of the highest ticket prices in Europe and if the football does not match that cost then attendance figures like Tuesday's will become more commonplace.
With that in mind, Spurs announced yesterday afternoon that the price band for January's Champions League match against Dortmund had been changed from Category A to B in the wake of the crowd voting with their feet for the Villarreal game with only 54,755 attending that night.
It was a decision that would have been made at the end of last month and while it's a small first step, it's one in the right direction. It's in the best interests of everyone involved to make Spurs a club to be proud of on every level. Nobody should be priced out of seeing a goal like Micky van de Ven's.
Attacking hope
Thomas Frank has maintained that his new-look Tottenham attack would need time to gel so when Mohammed Kudus, the one player who had hit the ground running, missed out on the squad with a knock, there was plenty of concern about what was to come.
However, without the Ghana international, Spurs' attackers stepped up and finally began to find their feet, helped by the generous space allowed to them by the Copenhagen players.
While Manchester United will not be so charitable on Saturday, sometimes a confidence boost can be more important than not playing, especially to attacking rhythm.
Xavi Simons in particular found his groove with a man of the match performance that saw him create more big chances - four - than anyone else in any Champions League game this season.
The Dutchman grabbed one assist when he could have had three or four, embarked on two successful dribbles, made 20 passes in the final third and sent 32 of his 36 passes to their intended targets.
"He had a great performance. He really created some big opportunities from our side," said Micky van de Ven of his compatriot. "It was a good game from his side and also in the last couple of games.
"Of course he’s in a new country so everything is different. Everyone expects a lot from him straight away, he played good games but you guys (the media) are always on him in certain ways of course. But game by game you see he’s making steps. He was brilliant tonight."
Xavi is known to have a good strop when he's unhappy and that was evident, and understandably so, when his night came to an end after 61 minutes as the man sacrificed for Brennan Johnson's red card.
The Dutchman shook his head and moaned to the heavens as he came off, with a few complaints for Frank as well as he passed him.
"I didn't say too much [back to him] I think," said Frank. "Of course, everyone wants to play, and he saw the opportunity to maybe play a little bit more. It's just at that point, at 2-0, you don't really know, so I thought 'ok we go a little bit more defensive', swapping Joao, so that's why we did it."
"I think that was a step forward today [for Xavi]. I'm very happy for him. I think it was a good assist and I agree with you, a little bit more sharpness for him and the other players. I think he probably had one more assist.
"I think he found good pockets, good spaces. I'm really pleased with that. Of course, I understand his disappointment in the moment. But it's always about the team, of course. At that stage, it's 2-0.
"We are still building layers in this team. I think it's obvious that we are progressing forward but are not where we want to be. In that situation, we just take no risk and put a more defensive player in. Which afterwards, of course, looks to be an absolutely top decision! But you never know."
Palhinha's part in Van de Ven's goal and then the Portuguese scoring himself ensured the substitution was perfect, but Xavi getting the player of the match award for 61 minutes on the pitch showed his impact as well.
The PSG connection worked well for Spurs as Xavi kept linking up with Wilson Odobert, the duo having spent time together in the French club's academy in different age groups, and current Les Parisiens striker Randal Kolo Muani also was on the same wavelength.
There were backheels, flicks and tricks galore among the trio with Odobert putting in one of his best performances since joining the club and showing his fitness with that late burst up the pitch for Palhinha's goal.
That first goal is coming for Kolo Muani. He's looking sharper and dangerous but his close range shot after a great Spurs move in the first half and then header over from Xavi's lofted pass showed there's still rust to be removed after so long out of the action.
"He's just taking steps in the right direction and he's getting more and more fit," said Frank. "I will still go as far as I don't think he's fully firing yet, but you can see he's such a handful to play against.
"The goal is a ball in behind where he's practically on the goalkeeper. And then he shows extreme composure to just take the ball down and a nice assist for Wilson. And he's through two or three times and could have scored more. So I think he was a threat. Probably also should have scored the header."
On the right, Johnson started the game brightly and his finish was yet another reminder that he was last season's top scorer with 18 goals.
There's a balance to Spurs when they have Johnson on the right, as it is on the other side when Destiny Udogie plays. The key for Johnson to get more starts is finding a system which involves both him and Kudus as it did in the 3-0 win against Everton, but that means Xavi on the left or out of the team.
Johnson will have a big part to play this season and few in the squad are as instinctive in and around the box as the 24-year-old. That's why he is Tottenham's highest scoring attacker again this season with four goals, the same as Palhinha and two behind Van de Ven.
"He's started now three in the last four, I think that's definite steps in the right direction," explained Frank. "Played a good game against Everton, ok against Newcastle, just a little rotation for Chelsea, and now starting again. So I think he's in a good place."
Frank told football.london that he felt Johnson's red card was harsh even if he understood why it was brandished.
"I think I understand why it can be given, but I think it's a little bit - what I've talked before - that still footage, studs on leg, is what the ref sees the first thing," said the Dane. "That's where it looks bad. There was no recklessness in this tackle from Brennan.
"He goes down into a sliding tackle, you can say 'why give the opportunity?' But when he goes down, there's literally no leg in front of him, so when he slides, then the player steps down, and then it looks bad after that. I think it was a little bit unfortunate, and I think it was harsh."
Watch out for Guglielmo Vicario's new tactic of going down holding his groin so he can get treatment coincidentally just at the time Tottenham need a break to reshuffle or reorganise.
The goalkeeper did it against Chelsea and again on Saturday after Johnson's red card, allowing Frank to give tactical instructions to his team. The Italian then boomed a long goal kick which would have been unwise perhaps with a groin problem and a moment after embarked on that pitch-long sprint to celebrate Van de Ven's goal. The amazing healing powers of football. Perhaps Tottenham are finally mastering the dark arts.
There was also a bright cameo from Dane Scarlett in the final 10 minutes with one run down the right and then a great display of touch, strength and drive to win the penalty just as he was trying to work an angle for a shot in front of the same stand he scored against Elfsborg last season in the Europa League.
The young forward was never going to be allowed to take the penalty with Richarlison on the pitch but his cameo will lodge in Frank's mind for the future.
There have been calls for Scarlett to get more Premier League game time from the fans, which is a big ask after he failed to land a Championship loan in the summer, but this brief performance reminded everyone of the wonderkid that Jose Mourinho used to rave about and tip for an England future.
Dominic Solanke's return after the international break is going to make it very difficult for Scarlett to get in matchday squads with Kolo Muani and Richarlison also present. If his display simply lands him a loan move in January then at least it should progress the 21-year-old's career again after this Champions League debut.
Frank was happy with his attackers on the night and hopes it's the start of them clicking.
"I think it was a step forward. I liked what I saw from Brennan, it was classic Brennan, running in behind. And I really liked the assist from Xavi," he told football.london.
"Very good assist from Xavi. So happy that it was a goal from Brennan, assist from Xavi. I liked bits from Wilson, and also of course he scored. I think Kolo looked like a handful, in many situations he could easily have scored one or two goals maybe in the end. But I think all of them have much more to come. It was definitely a step forward."
The flying Dutchman
Micky van de Ven's wonderful goal brought an end to a couple of days when the 24-year-old had unusually been in the headlines for the wrong reasons after his awkward moment with Djed Spence and Thomas Frank.
"It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven, roaring down from his own goal all the way to the other end and scored a fantastic goal. I think he's our top scorer in all competitions, so he can keep going. He can keep walking past me if he's angry after a game!" joked the Spurs boss on Tuesday night.
After scoring his wonder goal, Van de Ven was quick to move on from that frustrated moment and made it clear it was nothing to do with Frank.
"Of course it’s the past so I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. Djed and I walked [off], we were just frustrated after the game and everything got really exploded by the media, it was nothing big to be honest," said the centre-back. "Everyone thinks it was the gaffer, there was nothing to do with the gaffer.
"We were just frustrated after the game because of a bad performance from myself as well. We want to play well and I didn’t play well in my opinion, so I was just frustrated and I just wanted to go quickly inside. As I said it got exploded by the media out of nowhere."
There will be comparisons between Van de Ven's goal and Son's Puskas Award winner against Burnley from a couple of seasons ago.
Both are wonderful goals and trying to pick the best is impossible. Van de Ven's run began slightly further back, almost on the line of the Spurs penalty area, but it was more direct, while Son's had more diagonal movement to it so their runs may have been of a similar length.
Both players had to touch the ball past a couple of challenges, with each of them at one point having five opponents surrounding them, and both showed remarkable control at full speed.
It's going to take a remarkable goal from someone else this season to prevent Van de Ven adding his name to Son and Erik Lamela as Spurs' Puskas Award winners.
It will also be interesting to see whether Palhinha delights in his assist as much as Jan Vertonghen has for Son's effort over the years.
Van de Ven is turning into a game changer for Tottenham at both ends of the pitch and he was helped by having Romero alongside him. The Argentine provides the backbone to Spurs and they often look lost with him.
Pedro Porro played well on the night but it was Destiny Udogie who provided the width that makes Spurs so much more dangerous going forward. It's worth noting that the north London side have not lost any of the four matches the Italian left-back has started in this season and they've scored nine goals in those encounters.
Udogie's latest performance came as Tottenham confirmed that they have given the 22-year-old support after he was allegedly threatened with a gun by a football agent.
A football agent was reportedly arrested and detained on suspicion of brandishing the firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Udogie was walking down a busy London street with a friend when the incident is said to have occurred. Police were called at 11:14pm on September 6, with the Metropolitan Police having since confirmed that they have launched a full investigation.
It has been claimed that the agent is also under investigation for alleged blackmail and threats against a friend of Udogie. He has not been charged and was given conditional bail on September 9.
In a statement on Tuesday, Spurs said: "We have been providing support for Destiny and his family since the incident and will continue to do so. Given this is a legal matter, we cannot comment any further."
For Udogie it was no doubt helpful for his focus to be on the pitch amid all of that and the young Italian showed why he can be such a key part of Tottenham's defence for years to come if he can just remain fit for a prolonged period of time.
It was a much-needed clean sheet for Spurs' backline after a couple of recent wobbles and with Romero and Udogie back in the fold, they will be looking to continue that against Manchester United this weekend.
United to come
Tottenham and Frank took a pounding after the dismal display against Chelsea and few were more outspoken than Jamie Carragher.
The former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports about Spurs that it was "like watching a League Two team against a Premier League team in the FA Cup".
Carragher added: "What you’ve got is you’ve got a lack of courage and confidence from certain players, but you’ve also got a lack of ability of certain players."
He also said of Joao Palhinha, one of the signings of the summer: "A worry would be, one of his first signings is Palhinha. Now, he is not capable, I don’t think, of doing this [breaking the lines].
"There was a reason why players and teams in the Premier League didn’t buy him from Fulham, and there’s a reason why Bayern Munich bought him and didn’t play him, so that would be a worry."
Both Frank and Palhinha had their moment to hit back on Tuesday night and Spurs remain unbeaten in the Champions League and currently seventh in the big table.
The Tottenham boss was asked about Carragher's comments after the game.
"I didn't see his comments. So not too much to say to that. The pundits are pundits. They need to say something about the games. I've been a pundit myself sometimes. Put it this way, I know it's easier to be that than stand down there [on the touchline]," said the Dane.
"I saw a good performance today, which I'm happy with. We talk a lot about, how can you say that, bounce back mentality because in life and football there will be setbacks. Every team will experience that. And it's how we react to that to come out after a bad game or a bad spell and come back to it. That's part of a good team.
"I'm very happy with the response the players came with today. I think we controlled the game from minute one to the end, more or less. There was, of course, a little bit about the red card and making the side that should not be a problem.
"And then we won a very good win in the Champions League. And it's never easy. I know Copenhagen hadn't had a good start, but I just know they are, in general, very difficult to play against. And I'm pretty sure we'll not see them lose 4-0 again in the Champions League."
The key for Frank will be finding his best XI which he has not been able to uncover yet three months into the season, mainly because of the injuries that have dogged him as they have most Spurs managers.
Manchester United come to town in Saturday's early kick-off. Ruben Amorim has eased the pressure on his shoulders with a run of four wins and a draw in their past six matches, including victories against Chelsea and Liverpool.
United will arrive after a full week to prepare and recover from their 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday but Spurs will have had the confidence boost of Tuesday night's goal feast.
"It was an important one," said Van de Ven. "After the Chelsea game of course you need to bounce back in a positive way and I think we did that. It’s important we recover well and it’s a really important win to go towards Manchester United which is going to be really tough and an important game before the international break."
Tottenham could not stop beating the Manchester sides last season, including in the biggest game of them all in Bilbao. Now Frank will be looking to continue that theme this season after dispensing with City in August.
Triumph and the momentum is back behind Spurs ahead of a fixture run that brings games against Arsenal, PSG, Fulham, Newcastle and Frank's former side Brentford. Return to the old pre-international break tradition of losing and things could get tough at Tottenham.
This felt like a step in the right direction though for Frank and Tottenham just at the right time. Now they need to ensure they don't stumble with their next step and instead stride forward.
