SPORT: TEN-MAN SPURS TOP PREMIER LEAGUE AS VAN DE VEN SINKS LUTON
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Agency Report
Following Yves Bissouma’s dismissal for diving on Saturday, Tottenham defeated lowly Luton 1-0 to move to the top of the Premier League.
Just before halftime, Bissouma was dismissed at Kenilworth Road for receiving an unnecessary second booking.
However, Mickey van de Ven’s first goal for the team soon after the break gave unbeaten Tottenham their sixth victory in eight league contests.
The team led by Ange Postecoglou is two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who will play championship contenders Arsenal on Sunday.
Dreams of an unexpected title challenge have been reawakened by the North Londoners’ outstanding start to Postecoglou’s first season in charge.
The Australian has definitely had a significant impact on a club that was in turmoil when he joined from Celtic, even though that may still prove to be beyond Tottenham.
Many anticipated another season of instability after Tottenham’s dismal performances and results, as well as Harry Kane’s close-season transfer to Bayern Munich, but Postecoglou has done wonders to calm the ship.
He had already won praise for igniting Tottenham with his offensive strategies, but this tenacious performance will have been just as gratifying.
With games against Fulham and Crystal Palace coming up, they may continue their unbeaten streak through the rest of October, which would be the finest unbeaten start for any Tottenham manager in history.
In their first encounter with Tottenham since a scoreless stalemate in 1992, struggling Luton was unable to gain ground as the visitors got off to a fast start.
Richarlison missed a clear opportunity to give Tottenham the lead in the first few seconds after James Maddison’s cross split the Luton defence.
A few seconds later, the Brazilian wasted another wonderful opportunity by shooting low and inaccurately at Luton custodian Thomas Kaminski, who made a save with his foot.
Son was next to threaten as Tottenham laid siege to Kaminski’s goal, with the South Korean curling wide from inside the area, then forcing a smart stop from the over-worked keeper.
Dejan Kulusevski’s strike was tipped away for a corner by Kaminski before Richarlison miscued his shot when the resulting set-piece dropped nicely for him in the area.
After benefitting from the VAR mistake that saw Liverpool’s Luis Diaz denied a legitimate goal in last weekend’s win over the Reds, Tottenham were aided by correct use of the system this time.
VAR stepped in to rule out Luton’s goal late in the first half when Luton’s Elijah Adebayo shoved Cristian Romero before heading against the far post for Tom Lockyer to nod home the rebound.
Tottenham were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half-time when Bissouma, already booked for fouling Chiedozie Ogbene, blatantly dived in an attempt to win a free-kick after Marvelous Nakamba’s challenge.
Referee John Brooks wasn’t fooled by Bissouma’s attempted deception and immediately showed a second yellow card to the Mali midfielder.
Adebayo should have made Luton’s numerical advantage pay off straight after half-time, but he shot woefully wide from close-range after being picked out by Ogbene’s cross.
That miss proved the turning point as Tottenham took the lead in the 52nd minute.
Maddison’s determined run took him to the byline and he pulled the ball back to Van de Ven, who applied the finishing touch with a deft finish from six yards.
Carlton Morris squandered Luton’s best chances to equalise in quick succession, dragging his shot wide from a good position before firing straight at Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
AFP
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