Tottenham return to form with stylish demolition job

The memory of a football fan is short, but thankfully for Thomas Frank, the gap between matches is even shorter.

- CHRIS WILSON

Just three days after being booed off after an insipid performance in the loss to Chelsea, Spurs had the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bouncing with a 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen, with a wondergoal from Micky van de Ven and a controversial red card for Brennan Johnson summing up the best and worst of a Spurs side that remains the most unpredictable in England.

Just as last season offered up one of the most contradictory seasons of football on record - with a 17th-placed finish in the Premier League accompanied by a Europa League win that brought their first trophy since 2008 - Tottenham remain an enigma this term, sitting just two points off second in the league but simultaneously capable of producing performances that offer up just 0.05 xG.

And just a few days after that loss to Chelsea, Spurs produced 3.31 xG against an admittedly poor Copenhagen side, with Xavi Simons, Johnson and Van de Ven among those to impress in north London.

The hosts enjoyed plenty of the ball early on and were rewarded within 20 minutes when Johnson latched onto Simons’s through ball to take it past the goalkeeper and slot in a calm finish to open the scoring, Brennan Johnson scored the opening goal for Tottenham (AP)

They continued to dominate possession and though the visitors were able to get forward on occasion, solid defensive displays from the reliable duo of Van de Ven and Cristian Romero meant that Spurs were rarely troubled before halftime.