Has Tottenham Hotspur Finally Turned A Corner?

It’s been a long time since Tottenham Hotspur was so high in the Premier League standings. Currently sitting in 14th place, the North London outfit has become accustomed to fighting to avoid the bottom three spots and relegation to the Championship in recent times. 14th place is relative refuge.

Of course, this still isn’t where Spurs want to be. The club spent a lot of money in the summer transfer window in the belief new additions would push Roberto De Zerbi’s team firmly into the top half of the table. Some even questioned if Tottenham could be top-five contenders this season.

Such an achievement might be too far for De Zerbi’s side this season, but there is a growing sense that Tottenham is finally heading in the right direction. Saturday’s away victory over Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, coupled with the home win over Coventry City, gave Spurs their best week in a long, long time.

“It was a big moment for the fans, the club and the players also,” said De Zerbi after the win over Chelsea. “They deserved this win, they prepared very well. We are improving a lot, we are improving in the mentality, in the group and the relationships with the players and then we are improving on the pitch.

“Against Aston Villa and Everton for 30 minutes we were playing very well. Maybe no goals, no finishing good enough to score and maybe in the first bad moment we changed mentality. Now it is a complete team. The players are playing better, we improved in the style. When we stay for dinner and stay together in the dressing room I see a different group, a different relationship and different atmosphere among the players.”

Against Chelsea, Tottenham’s midfield unit of Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison and Sandro Tonali worked well. The trio gave Spurs some much-needed balance in the centre of the pitch while Mathys Tel offered an outlet on the left side. The Frenchman produced his best performance in a Spurs jersey.

In and out of possession, Tottenham played the game against Chelsea like a true De Zerbi team. It played with intensity and energy when attempting to win the ball back and with speed and incisiveness when playing with the ball. Spurs were deserved winners at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Spurs hosts Crystal Palace on Saturday. This is a good opportunity for the resurgent North London outfit to add to its momentum with fixtures against Ipswich Town, Sunderland and Fulham upcoming before a North London Derby against Arsenal at the start of December. Tottenham might finally have turned a corner.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com