After a poor start to the season that saw them lose to Arsenal and Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur seem to have found some form of late.

Last night’s 3-0 win over Qarabağ FK in the Europa League was the North Londoners’ third in as many matches, and while the scoreline suggests it was a straightforward affair, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The hosts were reduced to ten men in just the seventh minute thanks to a ridiculous last-man challenge from Radu Dragusin, at which point it felt like it could become a very long night. However, Ange Postecoglou’s side maintained their style of play and were soon back in the ascendency.

There were plenty of brilliant performers on the night, such as Destiny Udogie, but a couple might have played themselves out of the starting lineup for the game against Manchester United.

Udogie’s performance vs Qarabag

When the game kicked off, Udogie was sitting comfortably on the Spurs substitutes bench, seemingly rested for the more important game to come on Sunday.

However, following Dragusin’s lapse of concentration and subsequent ejection from the encounter, he was sent on in place of the young Lucas Bergvall to ensure there were still four defenders on the pitch.

However, while the Italian did slot into the left-back position, he spent just as much time helping out with attacks as he did making essential interceptions and clearances, which at this point is not a surprise anymore with Postecoglou at the helm.

Now, while such a decision when a man down would be called naive in most cases, it worked last night. The former Udinese gem was a constant threat throughout his 78 minutes on the pitch and picked up a thoroughly deserved 8/10 rating from Spurs writer Alasdair Gold, who wrote that he ‘played his part in Spurs keeping a clean sheet.’

However, while Udogie once again showed his class and demonstrated why he has to start in every meaningful game for the Club this season, one of his teammates wasn’t quite able to do the same.

Yves Bissouma’s performance vs Qarabag

Yes, the starter in question is midfield machine Yves Bissouma, who didn’t have his best game in a Spurs shirt last night.

The important thing to note is that, unlike Dragusin, the Malian dynamo was not so bad that he could have single-handedly cost his team the game. However, he was undeniably sloppy in midfield, generally looked off the pace throughout his 71 minutes on the pitch, and was at fault for giving away the penalty.

In his defence, it was only his third start of the campaign, which could explain that rustiness, but if he is like that against Manchester United on Sunday, things could get very sticky for the North Londoners very quickly.

It might sound harsh, but Gold shares this opinion. He gave the 28-year-old just a 5/10 on the night, writing that it was an ‘erratic display with some good moments but plenty of sloppy ones,’ an appraisal backed up by his statistics.

For example, in his 71 minutes of action, he did make three clearances, three interceptions, and one tackle, but he also maintained a passing accuracy of just 84%, misplaced his one long ball, lost 50% of his duels, lost the ball 15 times, committed two fouls, gave away one penalty, was dribbled past once and failed to play a single key pass.

Ultimately, while it was a night to remember for the team overall, it certainly wasn’t for Bissouma, and based on his display, Postecoglou should seriously consider dropping him for the game at Old Trafford as if he plays like he did last night, he could cost them three points.