Turnaround highlights Spurs are up for fight

Tottenham 3 Man City 1

Tottenham’s recent dip in form has left the club apparently drifting towards another, all too familiar near miss. Yesterday, though, in seven second-half minutes, Andre Villas-Boas’s side tore up the script and offered a clear indication that this time, they have the ability to last the course and claim a place in next season’s Champions League.

Gareth Bale was inevitably at the heart of a stirring comeback that was triggered by the arrival midway through the second half of Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone and Lewis Holtby from the substitutes’ bench. Provided with fresh impetus, Spurs finally sparked into life and Clint Dempsey cancelled out Samir Nasri’s early goal in the 74th minute before Defoe and Bale completed the win that Villas-Boas can claim as an impressive tactical victory.