Winning 5-0 in the fashion that they did on Tuesday night was everything that Tottenham needed.
The Lilywhites went into the game fresh off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to winless Watford at the foot of the table and 7-2 and 3-0 losses to Bayern Munich and Brighton respectively.
From the first whistle against Crvena Zvezda, though, the intent was there from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, with the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Tanguy Ndombele all impressing.
However, one man who was especially impressive was the tenacious Erik Lamela.
What a performance from this man tonight! #UCL #COYS pic.twitter.com/nEA8mxwxvp
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 22, 2019
The Argentine attacking midfielder certainly played his part in the 5-0 win. Aside from scoring the 4th goal of the game, the 27-year-old chipped in with two assists as he racked up three key passes, five shots and 37 passes at a success rate of 91.9% (WhoScored), earning him rave reviews from the fans.
It’s his season. FOR SURE
— Ankit Kapoor (@Ankit_THFC) October 22, 2019
Man of the match 100%
— Hols (@HollieAgombar) October 22, 2019
His time has finally come
— Freddie (@Freddie_LR) October 22, 2019
When he plays well we play well
— Nicky (@Marshall89Nicky) October 22, 2019
As always, needs to be a starter from now on
— Creg (@CraigMcS96) October 22, 2019
Some fans were also quick to slate Christian Eriksen after the performance of Lamela. The Argentine’s creative output in the final third was clear to see yesterday, you only have to see the WhoScored stats above to prove it, and a lot of fans are wanting to see Lamela replace Eriksen as the creator in the side.
Put Eriksen in the mud. Hate to see it.
— Noz Ahmed (@NozAhmed) October 22, 2019
Eriksen’s a short-timer, Lamela is forever.
— Knepherbird (@Knepherbird) October 22, 2019
him over eriksen weekly or giovanni either one thanks
— aditya (@adityaTHFC) October 22, 2019
Play him over Eriksen whenever.
— LP (@thfclp__) October 22, 2019
Lamela > Eriksen
— Mike (@mikee_swe) October 22, 2019