James Maddison uses one word to describe Pape Matar Sarr’s assist in Tottenham win

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James Maddison has summed up the cross from Pape Matar Sarr in one word after the midfielder set up Tottenham Hotspur’s opener against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Spurs absolutely blew Aston Villa away during the second-half. Neither Emiliano Martinez and Guglielmo Vicario had a lot to do during the first 45 minutes. However, everything seemed to change from the moment Pape Matar Sarr picked up the ball down the right flank five minutes after the break.

Sarr only has a handful of assists under his belt since joining Tottenham. But you probably would not have known it from the cross he would go on to produce to tee up James Maddison.

James Maddison lauds Pape Matar Sarr after Tottenham win

Sarr did superbly to curl the ball onto the edge of the six-yard box, leaving Martinez facing a dilemma over whether to gamble. He didn’t. And Maddison was able to volley home the crucial opener.

From there, the floodgates flew open. And Tottenham went on to secure a huge 4-0 victory which will give them massive belief for the remainder of the season.

Certainly, James Maddison – who was speaking to BBC Sport – suggested that he was amazed by the assist from the 21-year-old.

“I’ve been in the box a lot lately but it hasn’t been falling to me. The manager is always saying just keep making the runs. It was an unbelievable delivery from Pape Sarr, it was just about getting a foot to it,” he said.

“We kind of kick them again while they’re down. It’s a trend of how we play. It might take us 70 minutes to score one goal, but then we score two in five.

“I love the way this manager wants us to play, I love the way the team plays, the personnel in this side. It suits me. I feel like I’m getting somewhere close to my best again.”

Goals from everywhere

Tottenham are so dangerous because they seem to have an ability to create game-changing moments from anywhere.

Three different players provided assists against the Villans. Meanwhile, they also had four different goalscorers.

And Sarr deserves enormous credit for sparking the onslaught. Few would have anticipated a moment of such high quality in the final third from the Senegalese.

But in truth, it was a cross Maddison’s hero David Beckham would have been proud of.