Van de Ven plays 45 minutes and impresses on return as trio of youngsters shine in Spurs’ win over Elfsborg | OneFootball

Micky van de Ven started his first game since Spurs’ 4-3 defeat to Chelsea in December in the win over Elfsborg, a welcome return for Ange Postecoglou.

The Dutchman is one of Tottenham’s best defenders and has been out for almost two months, along with Cristian Romero, who was coincidentally also injured in the defeat to Chelsea.

Van de Ven started the game in his usual fashion, with a couple of marauding runs through the opposition midfield. His passing was accurate, and he allowed Archie Gray to move further up the pitch than he has done in previous games.

The Dutchman looked comfortable in the game, and his reoccurring hamstring injury did not look to be an issue. It will need to be monitored however, as that exact injury has kept him out for 90 days this term.

It has also been an injury that van de Ven suffered last season, and in 2021/22.

The centre-back completed the most passes (69) in the match, and had a 99% pass accuracy, before being substituted at the start of the second half.

Postecoglou will have been pleased with his performance, and the fact he got some minutes in his legs. He will be aiming to play the full 90 minutes against Liverpool in the EFL Cup and Aston Villa in the FA Cup, two games that could be season defining for Spurs.

Spurs go straight through to round of 16 thanks to trio of youngsters

What looked as though it would be a frustrating night for Spurs ended up being a very positive one.

Postecoglou’s side were goalless until 70 minutes against a stubborn Elfsborg team who managed to repel attack after attack.

But it was one of the substitutes who opened the scoring, Dane Scarlett scoring his first Tottenham goal by heading in from Dejan Kulusevski’s cross.

It was then the turn of another youngster to score his first goal for the club, when Oyindamola Ajayi played a neat one-two with Scarlett before firing into the bottom corner.

And the exciting Mikey Moore added a third with a fine solo run and finish, which was also his first competitive goal for the club.

The win means Spurs go straight through to the round of 16, avoiding a play-off and two extra games.