Spurs are now in a brilliant position to qualify for the Champions League.
Tottenham Hotspur are now in complete control of their own destiny, with a victory over Nottingham Forest moving them into fourth place with a game in hand against fifth-placed Aston Villa.
Spurs flew out the blocks with intensity and purpose, and they were rewarded fairly quickly after a Murillo own goal handed Spurs the lead.
Chris Wood equalised just before the half-hour mark, and at half-time, Ange Postecoglou switched out his midfield pairing.
Spurs’ dominance eventually paid off, with two wonderful goals securing the three points, but it was the performance of one individual that made the difference, even more so than Spanish defender Pedro Porro.
Pedro Porro’s performance in numbers vs Forest
There’s no two ways about it: Porro has been fantastic at right back this season, taking to Postecoglou’s philosophy and approach with ease.
Last night, the Spaniard scored his first Premier League goal of the season, unleashing a wonderful strike into the roof of the net, which gave the team some much-needed breathing room.
However, his overall performance was sublime, keeping Callum Hudson-Odoi relatively quiet, making two tackles, and only being dribbled past once, as per Sofascore.
The number 23 was also composed on the ball, playing out of tight spaces with deft passes and touches, which led to his pass accuracy being 91% – among the highest of anyone on the pitch – while taking 78 touches.
Despite this, Porro still wasn’t the best defender, with one of his teammates stealing the spotlight.
Van de Ven’s statistics against Forest
When Micky van de Ven is playing alongside Cristian Romero at the heart of the Spurs backline, the side looks so much more complete, calm and dominant.
The Dutch defender has had a difficult season so far, with two hamstring injuries causing him to lose his momentum, but this performance highlighted just how incredible he truly is.
The 22-year-old made his 20th Premier League start of the season on Sunday, and every single attribute of his complete profile was on display.
Football.London’s Alasdair Gold handed Van de Ven an outstanding 9/10 match rating for his showing, describing him as simply “superb,” and the statistics also support that.
Van de Ven was extremely confident in possession, evading the Forest pressure with excellent passing and ball carrying, as shown by his 94% pass accuracy – the highest of any player in the game – and 84 touches.
The left-footed centre-half also showed just how well he can strike a ball, as he scored Spurs’ second goal of the game with a rocket into the top-left corner that was completely unstoppable.
On top of the Dutchman’s goal and his influence on the ball, the number 37 also completely dominated Anthony Elanga, Divock Origi, and Wood, with his athleticism allowing him to make five tackles and win all five of his ground duels without being dribbled past once.
Such a performance drew plenty of praise, notably from Jamie Redknapp. Speaking on Sky Sports, he compared the defender to an £86m-rated Arsenal man: “Arsenal fans look at Saliba who’s a great young defender, but I think this guy is equally as good. He’s got everything going for him.
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