Spurs 3-1 Nottingham Forest

We opened the scoring courtesy of a Murillo own goal with just 15 minutes gone but were pegged back after Chris Wood equalised and it needed another strong second half showing to secure our sixth consecutive Premier League win over Forest. Dutch international van de Ven put us back in front with a rocket of a shot shortly after the restart and victory was secured thanks to another fine goal from Porro, the Spanish full-back scoring his first in the Premier League this season.

The victory moved us up to fourth place in the table, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference with a game in hand, and 11 points clear of Manchester United in sixth.

It was a lively start to the game in the early evening sunshine in N17 and we were on top in the early stages, although there was a huge scare on 11 minutes when Murillo attempted an audacious effort from midway inside his own half with Guglielmo Vicario well off his line, the Italian keeper scampering back but the ball just drifting a yard wide.

Four minutes later we were ahead, Heung-Min Son playing in Timo Werner down the left and his dangerous cross was turned into his own net by Murillo.

Forest – managed by our former Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo - looked to respond with Callum Hudson-Odoi cutting inside but shooting straight at Vicario while, at the other end, Matz Sels made a superb instinctive close-range save to deny Brennan Johnson against his former club.

After such a bright start though, we allowed Forest back into the game and they levelled on 27 minutes when Neco Williams slipped a pass down the left for Anthony Elanga and his ball into the box was met with a first-time finish from Wood into the far corner. They really should have gone ahead in the 35^th minute after Vicario had saved from Ryan Yates, with the rebound coming out to Wood three yards out, only for the striker to slam the ball against the post and we went in level at the break.

There was a double change at the interval with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur replacing Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr respectively and the former almost restored our lead two minutes in, his deflected 25-yard drive tipped over by Sels.

However we were back in front in the 52^nd minute. Johnson and Son both turned down the opportunity to shoot inside the area, but Son eventually laid it off to van de Ven who simply lashed the ball high into the net, a stunning goal.

And six minutes later it was 3-1 with another wonderful strike. James Maddison got down the left, his cross was flicked on by Bentancur and Porro hit a right-footed half-volley that flew past Sels.

That third goal certainly gave us control back in the game and we were playing some lovely football without quite finding that final pass. It wasn’t until eight minutes from time that the visitors had sight of our goal again, substitute Nicolas Dominguez firing straight at Vicario.

We almost added a fourth in the final minutes when Son shifted the ball onto his left and fizzed a shot which Sels did really well to tip onto the post, but it mattered not as the three goals were enough for another fine victory.

It means we've now picked up 18 wins and 60 points this season, the same as we had for the whole of the 2022/23 campaign, and we still have seven games left to play.