I must confess, I am as guilty as the next reporter for failing to spot the signs of Tottenham’s crushing victory on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

I took one look at the defensive line-up and my memories of the Galatasaray game came flooding back.

Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies were no match for Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi. How would they cope with the full frontal assault by Manchester City? My pre-match prediction that they would be swiftly dismantled lasted less than a quarter of an hour into the contest.

There was so much to celebrate about the way Tottenham took City apart, it may seem unnecessarily negative to point out how frustrating Ange Postecoglou’s team have been this season.

However, the point still stands – how on earth can a team beaten at home by Ipswich, looking dysfunctional and unconfident, go to Manchester a fortnight later and destroy City like that?

Timo Werner toiled when he came on against Ben Johnson of Ipswich, but left Kyle Walker – the best right-back in a generation – trailing in his wake when laying on goal number four.

There are now a series of pretty impressive things done by this Spurs team so far this season – including two glittering wins in Manchester and progress in two cup competitions. All of this makes the setbacks that little bit more frustrating – the capitulation against Brighton, the Ipswich fiasco and a rather meek display in the north London derby.

At the moment, these two elements are part of the Tottenham package – the supporters almost price them in. But there is surely a parallel universe in which those slip-ups do not occur and Spurs take their rightful place as consistent major players at the top of the league?

The weekend’s result makes you think that universe is not as distant as it might sometimes seem. These statement wins have to become a habit, not simply something to wind fans up when something inevitably goes wrong.