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Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

The unsung Tottenham player who has made things incredibly hard for Mauricio Pochettino

Crisis? What crisis?

Tottenham's long wait for a victory finally came to an end on Tuesday night as they put Red Star Belgrade to the sword with a 5-0 win.

Needing a late goal from Dele Alli on Saturday to salvage a draw against Watford after another below-par performance, Mauricio Pochettino's team looked a totally different side when the Serbian club visited N17.

The Lilywhites were electrifying from the very first whistle and perhaps should have scored more than the five they fired beyond the helpless Milan Borjan

While it may be Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who grabbed the headlines after both recording a double, Erik Lamela certainly deserved plaudits for his performance in the display.

He was quite simply sensational over the course of the 90 minutes.

Making an impact on Saturday in the game against Watford as he was introduced midway into the second half when the team needed an equaliser, the Argentine deserved to be in the starting XI for the crucial European game.

It's not the first time he has impressed this season either and it won't be the last, as he has been one of the team's better players in what has been a majorly disappointing opening to the term.

Erik Lamela on the ball against Red Star Belgrade (Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)

In the opening few weeks of the campaign Lamela tended to have an impact on proceedings whether that be a goal, assist or just playing a big role in Spurs going on the attack and finding the net.

He did just that against Red Star.

What Spurs needed was an early goal to settle any nerves and the winger played a key role in the opener as his perfect corner was flicked into the net by Kane.

Moments later and he created the second with a lovely bit of footwork to bamboozle Milan Rodic as he cut back inside and put the ball on a plate for Son.

Lamela was in the mood for his own goal to mark his 200th appearance for the club as he forced Borjan into a save in the first half, before then firing over from Kane after the break and later shooting wide when he really should have found the net.

However, he didn't have long to wait for another chance as he collected Serge Aurier's cross to find the top corner after a sharp turn in the box.

It was just what his performance deserved.

Lamela was always involved in Spurs' good play over the course of the 90 minutes and it was a performance befitting of his 200th for Tottenham.

Spurs midfielder Erik Lamela celebrates after scoring against Red Star Belgrade (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

More showings like the one on Tuesday night and his appearance total for Spurs will continue to grow after some rotten luck with injuries over the past few years.

Spending over 12 months out injured with hip issues, Lamela was one of the team's best players in the first half of last season before a few little issues kept him out towards the back end of last campaign. 

Lamela rightfully deserves his place in the team at present and it does makes things hard for the manager in terms of giving Christian Eriksen and Giovani Lo Celso minutes on the pitch.

More of the same from the 27-year-old over the coming months and they will be forced to watch on from the sidelines more often than not.

Perhaps his best performance of a decent campaign so far, Spurs fans really could be about to see the very best of him between now and May.

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