I saw Ange Postecoglou do something he rarely does and risk relationship to secure Tottenham win vs Villa

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou wanted a reaction from his players and got it.

Tottenham produced a brilliant second-half performance to beat Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League on Sunday evening. The Lilywhites came into the game looking for a reaction after the surprising defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend.

There is a growing perception that Tottenham are weak mentally, and Postecoglou has been keen to change that. When they faced a Villa side that was in the top four of the table and had won their last two games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs needed to do something special to secure all three points.

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There is no doubt that Spurs are a better side with Son Heung-min in the team. This was reflected when he was named in the starting lineup despite just returning from injury. He set up Johnson for Tottenham’s first goal, but it was clear he wasn’t up to speed, as Postecoglou clearly wanted more. He made the changes and substituted his captain. Son doesn’t like being withdrawn, and his facial expression when the board went up showed his disappointment.

His surprise at seeing his number come up while Tottenham were looking for a win affected him, but Postecoglou proved right, as his substitutions worked instant magic.

Yves Bissouma, who came on, helped recycle the ball and allowed his team to take charge of the midfield. Richarlison, who replaced Son, then set up Solanke for his second goal of the day, which essentially won the match for Spurs.

It was a risk in many ways, as Son would not have been happy to be substituted when his team was chasing a goal. If the result had not gone to plan, he could have had a word with his manager.

But in the end, the bigger the risk, the better the results, and Spurs cruised to a win that has taken them to seventh in the league table, just two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.

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