89 touches, 7 recoveries: Spurs star Mousa Dembele produces dynamic display in Stoke win

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Tottenham Hotspur beat Stoke City 2-1 at the Bet365 Stadium Saturday.

Tottenham Hotspur ace Mousa Dembele produced an all-action midfield display as his side cemented their place in the top four with a tight 2-1 win over Stoke City at the Bet365 stadium.

Spurs weren’t at their most fluid against Paul Lambert’s Stoke side, and even with only a matter of minutes remaining the home side were still in with a shout of picking up something from the game as they pushed forward.

Christian Eriksen opened the scoring after being teed up by Dele Alli, and the Denmark international scored the winner directly from a freekick in the second period, after the Potters briefly levelled the scores.

It was another match-winning performance from the former Ajax man, yet on the day Spurs’ most consistent performer was arguably Dembele as he set the rhythm of play and was fully involved in the game throughout.

As shown by the above Opta, the 30-year-old was heavily involved in a number of key areas and provided a calming influence as Mauricio Pochettino’s men closed out the game for all three points.

Dembele recorded an impressive 89 touches with a team-high pass accuracy rate of 94.1%, while defensively he contributed with two tackles, three interceptions and seven ball recoveries.

The Belgium international has become such a consistent performer for Tottenham in the middle of the park, and looking for his long-term replacement will be one of Pochettino’s toughest and important tasks.

Victory sees Tottenham move momentarily 11 points clear of fifth-place Chelsea in the race for a top four spot, although the Blues do have a game in hand at home to West Ham United on Sunday.

Champions League football Is looking all-but assured for next season as Spurs move in to their new stadium, and in Dembele they have a quality performer who looks right at home at the very top level.