Micky van de Ven’s goal of the season contender helped Tottenham provide boss Thomas Frank with much-needed home comforts after a 4-0 thrashing of Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Frank watched Spurs deliver a tepid display in a poor London derby loss to Chelsea on Saturday, which sparked boos at full-time and an unfortunate flashpoint with Van de Ven and Djed Spence.
Van de Ven and Spence ignored the instructions of Frank to applaud the home fans, but an apology by the duo on Monday was followed by a sensational strike by the Dutch defender on Tuesday night.
Vice-captain Van de Ven carried the ball from the edge of his penalty area to score a superb solo goal in the 64th minute.
It put Tottenham 3-0 up but was decisive as Brennan Johnson, who produced a 19th-minute opener, was controversially sent off at the start of the second half minutes after Wilson Odobert added a second.
Substitute João Palhinha added gloss to the score with 23 minutes left before Richarlison squandered a late spot-kick as Spurs produced the biggest win of Frank’s 17-game tenure at the perfect time to move onto eight points in the Champions League and keep alive their hopes of a top-eight finish.
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