Tottenham things you might have missed: Maldini links, a title admission, loan stars and more | OneFootball

Impressive win at Manchester City grabbed the headlines - but what went under the radar?

Tottenham's 4-0 win at Manchester City was the story of the weekend in the Premier League, as Spurs produced their best performance under Ange Postecoglou to extend the champions' losing streak.

The win over City was all the more impressive because Spurs were missing a string of key players.

Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore were all absent, and there were five teenagers on Postecoglou's makeshift bench.

Among them were academy pair Callum Olusesi and Malachi Hardy, who made a senior matchday squad for the first time (ahead of the unfortunate Sergio Reguilon, who remains frozen out).

Olusesi, 17, is an England youth international midfielder who is highly-rated at Spurs, tipped by many to be the next academy player to break into the first-team squad after Moore.

Hardy, meanwhile, is just 16 but already towers over many players his senior. He is the England Under-17 captain and considered a real prospect.

Positive attitude: Brennan Johnson’s lung-busting run summed up Tottenham’s admirable approach under Ange Postecoglou

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Johnson's late burst

Brennan Johnson has made a habit of scoring at the back post this season and his latest goal - Spurs' fourth of the evening - was largely down to Timo Werner's burst past Kyle Walker and excellent ball across goal.

But Johnson deserves credit for a lung-busting run to get on the end of the German's cross. When Jack Grealish carelessly lost possession, Johnson was deep inside his own half, level with Yves Bissouma and Pedro Porro, and with four Spurs players - including Werner - well ahead of him.

The Wales winger, though, immediately sensed the opportunity and sprinted full pelt for the far post. Johnson could easily have decided against making the run given the scoreline and time in the game, but his sprint epitomises Postecoglou's 'we never stop' approach.

Loanees impress

It was also a great weekend for some of Spurs' on-loan players. Manor Solomon scored twice in Leeds' 3-2 win at Swansea to kick-start his spell at the Championship promotion hopefuls, while Bryan Gil was in sensational form for Girona, opening the scoring and adding two assists in their 4-1 home win over Espanyol.

Dane Scarlett also scored again for Championship side Oxford and Alfie Devine opened his account for Belgian club Westerlo with a double, in a game in which 16-year-old Luka Vuskovic, who will join Spurs next year, started at centre-back.

Staying grounded: Arne Slot believes Liverpool still have plenty of Premier League title rivals to contend with, including Tottenham

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Slot names Spurs as title contenders

Liverpool's comeback win at Southampton moved them eight points clear at the top of the table (they can extend their lead over City by beating them at Anfield next weekend), but Arne Slot insisted afterwards he is "not getting carried away".

And the Liverpool boss namechecked Spurs as a potential title rival, presumably after watching them dismantle City.

"Arsenal, City, Chelsea or Tottenham, who were great yesterday, can win so many games in a row. It’s nice to have this position but we are definitely not getting carried away," Slot said.

Maddison heralds Davies

Ben Davies was outstanding on his first Premier League start of the season at the Etihad, helping Spurs to a clean sheet and playing out superbly.

His performance did not go unnoticed by man of the match James Maddison, who was quick to share a mocked-up image of Davies' head on the body of legendary Italian centre-back Paolo Maldini on social media after the game.

“What a shift yesterday from Mr Reliable,” commented Maddison.

To be fair, like Maldini, Davies plays at left-back or centre-back, and seems to be ageing like a fine wine, so perhaps the comparison is not completely wild.