FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM \u2013 For the first time since October, Ange Postecoglou\u2019s Tottenham Hotspur have tasted victory.<\/strong><\/p>\n Spurs defeated Newcastle United 4-1\u00a0on Sunday evening, putting an end to a run of five matches without a win. The hosts played with the swagger and confidence of the injury-free side that won over neutrals during the season\u2019s first three months.<\/p>\n Despite last taking to the pitch three days ago and succumbing to a humbling 2-1 loss at home to West Ham United,\u00a0Tottenham\u00a0looked far fresher in mind and body against the Magpies.<\/p>\n Richarlison, finally back in full flight after groin surgery, looked as quick as he ever has in a Spurs shirt. 31-year-old Son Heung-min returned to the left wing and played with the pace and trickery of his younger years. Pedro Porro, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson were all also in peak condition.<\/p>\n And then there was Pape Matar Sarr.<\/p>\n Sarr bossed the midfield \/ Julian Finney\/GettyImages<\/p>\n The 21-year-old was one of Tottenham\u2019s key performers in the late summer and early autumn, though cooled off a little prior to their recent run of dread and missed nearly three of those five matches with a knock.<\/p>\n His return to the starting lineup on Sunday coincided with an energetic Spurs performance, though this was in fact no coincidence. Sarr has almost literally grown into an all-seeing and all-covering approach \u2013 he\u2019s listed as 6ft1, but in motion gives the illusion of standing at closer to 6ft5.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a quality few midfielders have. Not many players in general are able to quicken the pace of the game on their own simply by virtue of running instead of passing. It\u2019s an antithesis of that famous scene from\u00a0Goal<\/em>\u00a0where Santiago Munez is taught the ball can travel faster than him.<\/p>\n In Sarr\u2019s absence, Tottenham bundled their way through several other midfield selections. Individually, some of their performances were fine when held up in isolation \u2013 Giovani Lo Celso scored away at Manchester City, most notably. They couldn\u2019t provide the glue to hold everything together like Sarr did against Newcastle.<\/p>\n Bissouma\u2019s first above-average match since his daft sending off at Luton Town prior to the international break came with Sarr helping him with the legwork. With Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton essentially chasing you with a lead pipe, that\u2019s no easy feat.<\/p>\n Part of\u00a0Postecoglou\u2018s remit upon arriving at Tottenham was to bring through the team\u2019s younger stars. Sarr showed glimpses of real potential in brief cameos under Antonio Conte last season but was bafflingly afforded little time to impress further. He\u2019s now getting those chances and taking them in a fast-paced system which suits his profile to a tee.<\/p>\n Football is easier when you have a one-man engine in midfield. Tottenham previously had the joy of Mousa Dembele providing that motor, and Tanguy Ndombele proved to be the failed and maligned successor. He\u2019s not the exact same kind of player as those two, but perhaps Sarr was the one in waiting all along.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Bruno](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/01hhagqae00q9kw2c8ge.jpg\" "\\"Bruno")
<\/figure>\n
\n