James Maddison was unhappy with £47m Tottenham player at Aston Villa today

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Tottenham ended up seeing off Aston Villa with ease in the end today but only after overcoming a frustrating first half.

Spurs burst into life in the second 45 minutes when goals from James Maddison, Heung-Min Son, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson ensured a fine win at Villa Park.

For Tottenham and their manager Ange Postecoglou, there was plenty to like, albeit an injury to Micky van de Ven has threatened to put a dampener on things.

However, while Tottenham might have stormed to the win in the end, all wasn’t overly calm among the players in that opening 45 minutes. Indeed, those watching the game might have noticed James Maddison losing his temper more than once in the first-half. And losing it at the same player.

James Maddison berates Brennan Johnson

Twice in the space of a few minutes during the opening 45, Maddison made a tearing run forward through the middle while Brennan Johnson had the ball out wide. The £47m signing from Nottingham Forest twice ignored Maddison though, and on the second occasion, Maddison was spotted letting the Welsh forward have an earful, as he flung his arms in the air too.

Clearly, the England midfielder wanted the ball playing and in fairness to him, it was on, on both occasions mentioned here. Johnson, then, despite getting a goal, might well need to sharpen up on his usage of the ball at times.

In the end, things turned out well for Spurs as both Maddison and Johnson got themselves a goal.

However, over the course of a season it is clear that things need to be done to near perfection to be successful.

This was only a minor moment really in the game but it showed the standards Maddison demands and that, really, is a positive.

There is a reason Postecoglou has ‘Madders’ as part of his leadership group and little nuggets like this can often be the difference.