Tottenham edged out Boro on the weekend, but victory should’ve been by a greater margin perhaps.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Toby Alderweireld has warned his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates that they cannot think of themselves to be a “top team” unless they put other sides to the sword on a regular basis.
Tottenham remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season after beating Middlesbrough 2-1 at The Riverside Stadium for their fourth win in six outings.
Son Heung-min’s first-half brace was enough for Spurs, whose lead was halved by Ben Gibson on 65 minutes, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side hung on.
The Lilywhites had chances before and after Gibson’s consolation to finish off Boro, with Dele Alli, in particular, missing a relatively gilt-edged opportunity.
On another day, Spurs’ profligacy might have cost them potentially-vital points, and Alderweireld warns that more of a killer instinct is needed if they want to continue evolving under the young Argentine manager.
He told their official website: “We have to be more clinical and if you want to be a top team you need to finish those chances and finish the game.
“Of course, they got a goal back from a set-piece but I still had the feeling defensively everything was good, I never had a feeling they were going to score again, they had two attempts on target, so the organisation was good.
“Our build-up play was good but we have to score more so we can make the second half easier!”
Tottenham are going great guns, but bigger tests lie ahead and missing chances simply won’t be tolerated against, say, Manchester City, who visit White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s side head to North London after winning all six of their Premier League games so far, netting 18 goals along the way.
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