Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was delighted with his side’s composure as they made it back-to-back wins for the first time since October with a 2-0 Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest.
Dejan Kulusevski picked out Richarlison to head home the opener in first-half stoppage-time before turning goalscorer when he capitalised on a poor clearance from Matt Turner to double the advantage at the City Ground.
Tottenham then had to see out the final 20 minutes with 10 men after Yves Bissouma’s dismissal for a high lunge on Ryan Yates but they held on despite Neco Williams hitting the post late on.
Postecoglou told Sky Sports Premier League: “It’s a tough game here, you have to earn whatever you get. They’re obviously pretty desperate for points and the crowd get behind them.
“Every time they get a throw-in, you feel like you’ve conceded a goal and they’re launching it in the box. We had to deal with a lot of things we don’t normally have to deal with. Just great character.
“We had some adversity obviously to go down to 10 men. Some of our football was good as well, so a bit of everything.
“For the most part we stayed pretty calm and composed, the back four, Ben Davies and Romero were excellent, Vic was good when we needed him.
“We always had an outlet, we always looked dangerous, which meant we just didn’t camp ourselves in there. So really pleased.”
However, Postecoglou remained concerned about Tottenham’s lack of discipline as Bissouma was sent off for the second time this season and his 70th-minute dismissal was Tottenham’s fourth red card of the season.
Postecoglou added: “I haven’t seen it but I’m assuming they slowed it down and saw it. It’s been a little bit of an issue. It’s a fine line with those things.
“The players are aware of that, they don’t want to miss games. I think today was more of a desperation tackle than something nasty.
“We’ve had to deal with that a few times this year and you can’t go on doing it like that because eventually we’ll pay a price for it, and we did against Chelsea.
“It’s something we talk about constantly but it’s a fine line between their commitment to what we’re trying to do and not overstepping the mark.”
Forest boss Steve Cooper bemoaned the error that led to Tottenham’s second goal that left his side with a mountain to climb.
Under pressure from Heung-min Son, Turner’s attempted clearance went straight to Kulusevski, who rifled into the net to make it 2-0.
Cooper said: “The result is obviously the most important and will always write the narrative and we accept that.
“I think we sort of played the game we thought was the right one to play in terms of playing on a fairly closed pitch and not trying to give Spurs too much space to play in because we could see how dangerous they can be.
“Obviously the goal, we’ve come off the plan, we haven’t doubled up, we’ve let him come inside.
“It’s the one time they’ve put a real free cross in and we’ve not marked in the box. And that’s the level and that’s the bit that we’re not doing very well in terms of when we’re given moments in and around the opponent’s box, we’re not making it count.
“Then obviously we’ve come out and we started the second half well and then the second goal is not something you can do at any level, never mind in the Premier League.
“So that killed the momentum but I’ve got no complaints with the general performance.”
Postecoglou warns 'no easy or quick fix' for Spurs after Coventry scare
Ange Postecoglou acknowledged "there is no easy or quick fix" for Tottenham following their EFL Cup scare against Coventry City.
Spurs scraped through to the fourth round by the skin of their teeth, having been second-best against their Championship opponents for large periods of the tie at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ben Davies had cleared off the line from Haji Wright minutes before Coventry took a deserved 63rd-minute lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante.
The Sky Blues looked set to book their place in the last-16 draw, but Djed Spence rounded off a neat move to equalise in the 88th minute then, deep into stoppage time, Brennan Johnson completed the turnaround to snatch victory from under Coventry's noses.
Postecoglou has been the subject of criticism this week after stating he "always" wins silverware in his second season at a club.
The Spurs boss knows his side still have a long way to go, but was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players in testing circumstances.
"We had to just hang in there somehow, and we did," he told Sky Sports. "We weren't fluent or cohesive.
"I have consistently said there is no easy or quick fix to where we want to get to and one result doesn't change that.
"Tonight, we showed what we have been missing the first four games. A little bit of spirit to fight our way and find a way to win a game of football."
Arteta confirms Arsenal captain Odegaard out 'for a while' with ankle injury
Mikel Arteta confirmed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out "for a while" after suffering a significant ankle injury while playing for Norway.
The 25-year-old hobbled off during his country's Nations League 2-1 win over Austria in Oslo on September 9 and returned to London on crutches.
Odegaard missed Sunday's 1-0 derby victory against Tottenham and Arteta revealed the bad news on the midfielder ahead of Arsenal's opening Champions League game away to Atalanta.
"The scans showed that he's got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle," the Arsenal manager said on Wednesday.
"It's something quite significant so we're going to lose him for a while."
Arteta, whose side are second in the league and two points behind Manchester City, said he hoped it would not be months "but let's see".
Odegaard has become a key player for Arsenal, missing only a handful of games over the last three seasons, and a lengthy absence will come as a huge blow.
"He's our captain. He's been one of the biggest and best players in our team," continued Arteta.
"Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It's a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face."
Norway coach Stale Solbakken told VG newspaper he had been fully updated about the injury and was "preparing for a life without Martin".
"We have to take it week by week and day by day. Some types of damage go faster and some go slower," he said.
Man City 0-0 Inter: Guardiola's men frustrated in repeat of 2023 final
Manchester City's bid for a second Champions League crown got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a goalless draw by Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final.
Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair at the Etihad Stadium, with Inter defending resolutely before threatening to hit Pep Guardiola's hosts on the break on numerous occasions.
City's goal machine Erling Haaland was hoping to become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, but he saw a header held by Yann Sommer early on before rolling another effort narrowly wide of the post.
Marcus Thuram flashed a first-time shot over the crossbar as Simone Inzaghi's men fired a warning shot of their own, while another Sommer save prevented Phil Foden from capping a delightful City move with a goal.
Inter's clearest opening came in the 53rd minute, but former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably tried to find a team-mate with a backheel when presented with a clear sight of Ederson's goal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed another golden late opportunity, sending a wild effort spinning over the crossbar from 10 yards out.
But the last chances went City's way, Ilkay Gundogan eliciting huge groans from the home fans with two misses from short-range headers in the dying seconds.
Data Debrief: Inter make a statement
City are always favourites on their own turf, but Inter were expected to put up a fight on Wednesday and they did precisely that, marking themselves out as potential challengers for the European crown.
It was just the second time City had failed to find the net in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, with the other being a goalless draw with Sporting CP in 2022.
Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Bisseck impressed in the heart of defence, limiting Haaland to the fewest touches (14) of any starter on either team.
The Nerazzurri also offered a threat going forward, with their 10 first-half attempts making them the first Champions League visitors to reach double figures at the Etihad since Monaco in February 2017 (also 10).
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