Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been waxing lyrical about Tottenham - and one man in particular - after Spurs defeated Manchester City on away goals in their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Spurs progressed to the last four of the competition after a dramatic night at the Etihad Stadium, with Fernando Llorente's second half goal helping Mauricio Pochettino's men set up a semi-final with Ajax, despite losing 4-3 on the night.
And Ferdinand was full of praise for the character shown by Spurs in an incredible game at the Etihad Stadium, which featured five goals in the first 21 minutes.
"They’re in it to win it. It’s as simple as that," he said, speaking as a pundit on BT Sport.
"They’ve made their own luck. You do need elements of luck if you’re going to progress in a tournament like this but the way they’ve played, the character they’ve shown, the desire. There were mistakes made with goals etc but when you get through here, that’s all forgotten.
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"You’re just into the next round and that’s all you care about. Both teams have to be credited here because the way City punched back, went ahead - they looked like they were cruising at one point. But then the game just swung again. And this VAR, my heartrate hasn’t been like this since I retired."
And Ferdinand was full of praise for the way Spurs dealt with not having their top scorer Harry Kane, who was missing through injury.
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Indeed, the former United defender singled out one Spurs player in particular for their role over the course of the tie.
"Unbelievable. You’ve got to remember, this is without their talisman. Harry Kane didn’t play today," said Ferdinand.
"The Spurs fans would have been worried, ‘We haven’t got our main man!’
"But that guy loves responsibility, Son takes that on the chin and says: ‘Give it to me, I’ll take that responsibility. I’ll shoulder that now.’ And the way he played, especially in the first half. He took his goals beautifully."
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