Dier worry
Antonio Conte certainly wasn't taking any chances with his Tottenham team selection for the FA Cup game against Brighton & Hove Albion.
While many of their rivals choose to rotate a number of their players in cup competition given the importance of their league fixtures, the Italian practically went with his strongest team.
However, there was no Oliver Skipp due to a groin injury and Eric Dier missed out on the matchday 20 altogether.
The ex-Sporting CP's absence was actually down to the thigh issue he sustained prior to the recent international break, with Conte leaving him out as a precautionary measure with league games coming up against Southampton and Wolves next week.
Spurs may have been short on options at the back in recent weeks but Cristian Romero's return from a hamstring problem helped soften the blow.
Romero impresses
Conte has had to wait rather a long time to have Romero available for selection once again due to the hamstring injury he sustained on Argentina international duty back in November.
Starting in the head coach's first two games as boss after Nuno Espirito Santo's exit, the Atalanta loanee has not featured since the 0-0 draw away at Everton.
Playing on the right of a three-man defence against the Toffees and Vitesse, Romero took on a different role for the Brighton & Hove Albion FA Cup tie.
Rather than opting for either Davinson Sanchez or Joe Rodon at the heart of defence in Dier's absence, the summer signing got the nod there and made an instant impact.
This was evident with only 17 minutes on the clock as he produced a crunching tackle on Tariq Lamptey to send the Brighton ace flying as he looked to advance into the box, which duly earned a big cheer from the home crowd.
Aggressive in his defending and also showing why he is rated so highly with his reading of the game, Spurs looked so much better for the return of Romero.
He certainly deserved his standing ovation following his substitution.
Emerson's bizarre celebration
Taking the lead early on through Harry Kane's fine curling effort, Spurs gave themselves a two-goal cushion midway through the first half as Emerson Royal netted his first goal for the club.
Bursting down the right wing and electing to play the ball back to Kane, the Brazilian pressed forward and fired in a cross that found the top corner via a deflection off Solly March.
Clearly pleased to open his account for the Lilywhites, the summer arrival darted off towards the substitutes' bench to celebrate but his teammates elected against running after him.
Emerson did appear to be pointing at someone as he celebrated but once he reached the dugout he just grabbed a bottle and had a quick drink.
Surely he wasn't that thirsty?!
Spurs on song
January was a rather mixed month for Conte and his Tottenham side with results and performances incredibly up and down.
From the high of winning in the final few seconds at Leicester City courtesy of Steven Bergwijn's sensational double, Spurs also lost three times against rivals Chelsea and looked worlds away from Thomas Tuchel's men.
Now entering a brand new month and needing results to kick on in both the Premier League and FA Cup, Tottenham were extremely impressive against their south coast opponents.
As was the case at Leicester prior to the international break, Kane was in brilliant form as he got on the ball and helped Spurs dictate play in the final third.
Looking back to his best with a stunning opener, the England captain linked up really well with Son Heung-min on his comeback and that hopefully bodes well for what remains of the season.
Pressing Brighton to cause them plenty of problems, Spurs were also aggressive in their defending and looked more like a Conte team after a good week on the training pitch with the head coach and his staff.
Bentancur wows the crowd
Leading 3-1 thanks to Kane's second of the game, Conte was given the chance to bring on his new signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
With Kulusevski having a couple of runs forward and linking up with his fellow attackers, Bentancur slotted nicely into midfield and showed some nice touches.
There was one moment where he wowed the home crowd after a superb bit of play under pressure on the edge of his box.
Dragging the ball back to bamboozle his marker, he then calmly flicked the ball back to Sergio Reguilon and it brought about a huge cheer.
Also getting a booking after dragging back Yves Bissouma, it was a rather action-packed debut for the classy midfielder.
Bentancur more than looked the part in his short cameo and he could well turn out to be a key player in Conte's XI going forward.
