UEFA Champions League 2019/20: 3 reasons why Tottenham Hotspur defeated Crvena Zvezda

#3 Tottenham’s squad strength shone through

Tottenham made use of their deep squad tonight, deploying Giovani Lo Celso in the starting XI for the first time

Given their strong performance tonight, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Mauricio Pochettino named what would be considered his very best team; in truth, that wasn’t the case at all. Neither Toby Alderweireld nor Jan Vertonghen – usually considered Pochettino’s key central defenders – played, and other key men like Harry Winks, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and Serge Aurier were also absent.

Despite this, the likes of Juan Foyth, Eric Dier and Giovani Lo Celso – men who haven’t played that many minutes thus far in 2019/20 – performed extremely well, and while questions have to be asked about the quality of tonight’s opposition, it was encouraging that Tottenham were able to play in this manner without a full-strength starting XI.

Add in the fact that substitutes Ryan Sessegnon and Christian Eriksen also played well when they were brought into action – combining to score Tottenham’s fourth goal – and suddenly, Spurs’ supposedly thin squad seems deeper than some fans might expect.

Going into Saturday’s match with Sheffield United, it’s possible that Pochettino now has a selection dilemma on his hands – and given Tottenham’s current form, that’s not a bad thing at all.