But who have they beaten? Three teams in the bottom four and, er, Manchester United. Tottenham had heard the attempts to explain away their excellent start to life under Ange Postecoglou, their finest opening to a season in 58 years. This would be the acid test, a truer gauge of where they stood: a derby against their neighbours at whose stadium they never seem to win. What we learned after a stirring contest is that they look like a serious proposition.

Postecoglou’s team were unable to record what would have been only a second Premier League victory in 31 attempts on enemy turf. But what the manager wanted to see from his players was personality and them imposing their game. He certainly got that.

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