Dejan Kuluseski has said he "loves being underdogs" when giving his verdict of Tottenham's performance in their 3-2 victory over Man City.
Spurs' January signing not only got his first start in a Tottenham shirt, but also notched his first goal, as the visitors caught City cold in the fourth minute of the game.
This was the start of a solid performance from the Swede who, up until Saturday's match, had shown glimpses of potential in his previous appearances.
The Lilywhites went into the game on the back of two home defeats to Southampton and Wolves in the league and although it was a vital three points, there wasn't much hope of getting them against the current league leaders.
In a game where the Manchester side had 71% possession and 21 shots, Antonio Conte's side produced a solid display to get the victory.
After the game, football.london asked about Kulusevski's display and although the Italian said it was hard to pick out individuals, he had praise for the January arrival.
"For sure, Kulusevski played an amazing game," Conte admitted in his post match press conference. "He’s only 21 years old, but despite this, he has good experience, because when you play with Juventus you have to manage a lot of pressure in Italy.
"He’s a good signing for us. He's strong physically, good technically."
The 21-year-old added attacking flare to the Spurs side, getting down the pitch to provide crosses and passes to his teammates, helping to create chances in the final third.
After the game, the Swedish international gave his own verdict of his side's performance.
"Fantastic. All hard work pays off and after this feeling you want to do it more, you want to go tomorrow, you want to work harder because this is a wonderful feeling that everyone should have," he explained in his post match interview with Tottenham.
Spurs did get the ball in the back of Ederson's net four times, but when Conte's side looked to have take a 3-1 lead, the goal was ruled offside for Kulusevski's part in the build up.
City equalised with a Riyad Mahrez penalty but it took Conte's side just two-and-a-half-minutes to get the winning goal which, again came from an assist by the Swede for another Kane goal.
The attacking midfielder went over to the linesman as if to check if that goal was going to be ruled out too, and was asked after the game if he was worried about a potential second offside.
"No I didn't think about it. To be honest, the first one I really didn't think it was offside because I'm not usually offside in those positions," he admitted. "After I was a little bit afraid of being offside, I felt more offside for the second one."
Tottenham have struggled with creativity and effective crossing in a number of games so far this season, but Kulusevski has already shown glimpses of being able to help his new side with that and having someone like the England captain on the end of his deliveriess can only be a boost for the club.
"That's a feeling I can’t describe," the 21-year-old said. "It’s is so amazing because it's been a couple of bad months that I felt not being myself and that feeling is amazing and I'm so grateful for the opportunity this club gave me and the coach that he let me play and the players that helped me a lot."
In a tie where the Lilywhites knew it would be a struggle, the game plan was almost perfect and Tottenham got three points against Pep Guardiola's side for the second time this season.
"I love being underdogs," Kulusevski admitted. "You [come] here, you have to defend because you play against Manchester City but we [have to] trust the coach and when the coach says something to do, we have to do it and we have to help each other because if we as players don't help each other, we cannot do this type of result.
"Just proud of everybody."
The Swede also had praise for the fans in the welcoming feeling he has got from them since his arrival in the capital, and that was no different when they travelled North on Saturday.
Kulusevski had the chance to play his first 90 minutes for the Lilywhites and really impress Conte, which some players have struggled to do. But the Swede did not disappoint.
