Assured Ludogorets Win in Europa League Proves Tottenham Have Learned Lessons From Shock Antwerp Loss

Tottenham went into their Europa League tie against Bulgarian side Ludogorets with the shock defeat to Antwerp fresh in their minds.

Losing 1-0 to the Belgian minnows was a poor result in the context of Spurs' European hopes but overall it should not matter too much. They are very likely to still qualify from Group J at an absolute canter.

What was much more significant was manager José Mourinho's comments after the game. The former Chelsea boss said the result made his future selection decisions 'easy' and he also posted a particularly fuming Instagram post following proceedings.

In short, he was not a happy bunny and was clearly expecting a response in Bulgaria.

Luckily, his side's performance against Ludogorets could not have been more different to the one they subjected him to seven days prior. The complacency they exhibited against Antwerp was absent with Spurs flying out of the blocks from the very first whistle.

Pressing high, the Bulgarian side - who reached the round of 32 in this competition last season - looked extremely uncomfortable. Spurs did permit them to have some possession but they were barely allowed to leave their own half and inside the first 20 minutes, Tottenham registered seven shots to the hosts' zero.

One of those shots ended up in the back of the net, with Harry Kane rising high to nod in Lucas Moura's corner. It was his 200th goal in his 300th game for Spurs - another frankly obscene milestone that proves his irresistible talent.

After this, Spurs continued to push. Most notably, Matt Doherty forced a fine save out of Plamen Iliev Ivanov following excellent work from the influential Giovani Lo Celso. However, Ivanov could do nothing about Spurs' second as Kane and Lucas Moura combined to finish off a lovely team move. It was 2-0 and Jose Mourinho's side were absolutely cruising.

They went into the break having registered 12 shots on goal, while Joe Hart could have set up a camping chair such was his limited contribution to proceedings.

Their second half display wasn't quite as relentless, with Ludogorets managing to pull a goal back - albeit with the help an extremely fortunate deflection - but even before Lo Celso restored their two goal advantage there was no doubt that Mourinho's charges would see the task through.

The eventual 3-1 scoreline and the performance that went with it will be particularly pleasing for Spurs fans. For starters, it all but ends speculation that the Antwerp game was anything more than 'one of those nights' and it also saw key players receive more minutes on their roads to full fitness.

Most notably, Gareth Bale put in his most consistent display yet, lasting over an hour before being replaced by Steven Bergwijn. Lo Celso's quest for match sharpness also proceeded, while Hart didn't look half bad in goal.

Overall, it was a very professional job from every single Spurs player that featured and Mourinho will enjoy a far more pleasant journey home than last Thursday. All we need now is his Instagram post...

Oh, there it is.