The last blast of the referees whistle on Sunday confirmed another step forward for this rapidly progressing Tottenham team. On paper they had already conquered the personal demons that rear their head every time Pochettino’s side step onto the pitch in the national stadium with the win over Bournemouth the previous weekend, but this was the first time Wembley truly felt like home (in the league at least). A 4-1 win over a fellow top 6 side means that all talk of Wembley being a major issue this season should be put to bed. Tottenham blew Liverpool apart and could have been out of sight within 20 minutes. No one is denying that Liverpool’s defensive efforts (if you can call it that) helped Spurs on their way but the speed, intelligence and clinical nature of the lilywhites play meant that any team would have been on the ropes. In transition Spurs were deadly and looked like scoring every time they robbed Liverpool of possession, tearing across the Wembley turf like white arrows. In the opening 20 minutes especially, there was a feeling that the score could have been anything in our favour. It prompted more praise being lavished upon the team, Pochettino, and that man Harry Kane. This team and manager continues to evolve and make sure errors from previous seasons are not repeated, be it tactically or mentally.

Such is the way that Tottenham are playing at the moment it seems like they are ticking off previous criticisms leveled at the team one by one. In Pochettino’s second season, the club unexpectedly found itself not just comfortably in the top four (which was always the ultimate aim for any Tottenham manager) but thrown into the cut and thrust of a title race, trying to chase down the miracle men from the King Power. That particular dream collapsed at Stamford Bridge in spectacular and heartbreaking fashion, and that night the mental state of the team seemed to do the same. The humiliating loss at St James Park on the final day of the season exposed a fragile mentality that meant the second the prospect of the title was off the table, the players lost their way. It was a showing that infuriated Pochettino, and something he knew couldn’t happen again if Spurs were to consistently challenge at the top level. Last season, as another title challenge came and went, no such collapse occurred. 6-1 and 7-1 wins away at Leicester and Hull as well as winning the final ever game at White Hart Lane against Manchester United meant that Spurs finished strong, and proved that Pochettino wouldn’t allow the team to stop playing simply because there was seemingly nothing to play for. It was a problem, and although he had to wait a season, Pochettino proved he had addressed it. His team were no longer mentally fragile.

Wembley. The name that striked fear into the hearts of every Tottenham fan before this season began, and with good reason. The club had a poor record at the home of football before we underwent our Champions League campaign last season, and the doubters were proved right as we sunk to defeats against Monaco and Leverkusen and crashed out of Europe’s elite competition. The embarrassing return against Genk in the Europa League wasn’t much better. Again the questions of mental fragility and the lack of big game mentality came back, as Spurs seemingly found it impossible to truly perform and, most importantly, win under the arch. This season we had no choice but to find a winning formula at our temporary home if we wanted to mount another challenge at the top of the table, and slowly but surely, Spurs appear to have finally found a way. The mental block that seemed to hit the team like a steam train has just about been overcome, a process which began with a memorable Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund and continued with a ragged win over Bournemouth. The thumping win against Liverpool seemingly confirmed that we can actually play football at Wembley. No one truly knows why Spurs had such a bad record at the national stadium, but it’s a record that over the past few weeks has become much improved. Another problem ticked off the list (hopefully)

Mauricio Pochettino is widely regarded as one of the best young managers around, but he himself hasn’t been above criticism from the Spurs faithful during his time in North London. No one doubts the quality of the job he has done but there were fears that he may have been slightly limited and/or stubborn tactically. Not anymore. Tottenham haven’t just improved immeasurably as a team since his arrival, Pochettino has improved as a manager as well. He has shown for the first time that he is willing to sacrifice possession and try to win games on the counter and via key transitions in the middle of the park, evident in the wins against Dortmund and Liverpool at Wembley. The away sides had the lions share of possession in both games but it was Spurs who were clinical and effective when the chances came. He has also shown he isn’t afraid to spring a surprise or two. No one expected a Harry Kane/Fernando Llorente strike partnership up front in the Bernabau, but that’s exactly what we got. With the team playing a disciplined and organised style, Llorente proved to be the perfect foil for Kane and used his size and strength to occupy defenders, with the Spaniard being denied a penalty in the first half and brilliantly finding Kane to set up what was so nearly the game winning chance in the second half. Such was the quality of the performance against Real Madrid it was a relatively comfortable end to the game for Tottenham, with Hugo Lloris’s goal not exactly being peppered by the reigning European Champions (not that the Frenchmen wasn’t kept busy). In short, Pochettino has crafted a well oiled machine of a squad that is capable of playing 3,4 and 5 at the back during different stages of the match, switching between each system seamlessly and to good effect. Christian Eriksen has been deployed in a deeper role at times, whilst Heung Min Son was played right up alongside Harry Kane yesterday against Liverpool to great effect. Even Dele Alli found himself alongside Winks and Eriksen yesterday, a role he hadn’t found himself in since the very beginning of his Spurs career. Mauricio is now a manager with far more than one string to his bow and this evolution in tactics means that Spurs are now much more difficult to predict pre game and also more able to effect proceedings when one formation/way of playing isn’t coming off. It’s got to the point where Mousa Sissoko was a man of the match contender at central midfield up against Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, and there’s no greater compliment you can pay to Pochettino’s growing ability as a manager than that.

Tottenham are entering a run of games that is simply crucial to their season, and with the draw in Madrid and win over Liverpool, they’ve started as they mean to go on. Upcoming games against Manchester United, Madrid, Dortmund and Arsenal will push an already injury hit squad to their very limits. There is every reason to be optimistic however, because Spurs are seemingly getting better all the time, with the the manager flexing his tactical muscles and every player improving within themselves along with taking to new systems with ease. Old Trafford on Saturday represents another chance to show that this Spurs side are addressing another possible criticism (a questionable big game away record). One thing is for sure though, the way things are going, sooner or later there isn’t going to be many negative traits associated with this Spurs side, and if there are, this season has proved that sooner or later, they’ll address them, get better, and go again.