This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets... 

Spurs returned to their best against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday and that was largely due to the performance of a resurgent Erik Lamela.

The Argentine has maintained his fitness this term but not his consistency, and as a result he has been in and out of the starting line-up, but with more displays such as the one he showed against the Serbian champions, he will soon be the first name on the teamsheet.

In fact, he was so good that Tottenham didn't notice the absence of Christian Eriksen, leading some supporters to hope that the Dane never plays for the club again - with £20m-rated Lamela an adequate replacement.

Mauricio Pochettino's side created chances throughout and looked a transformed side to the team which has lacked confidence and belief over the last few matches, with one win in seven prior to Tuesday.

What will be particularly pleasing for the Spurs boss was the link-up play between the front-three, with Harry Kane also receiving plaudits for his display, and Son Heung-min scoring two.

However, it was the 6-foot Lamela who stole the show, and his performance could have a long-term impact on the team's strategy moving forward.

The winger showed it all against Red Star, and had a big hand in a lot of Tottenham's positive display throughout the evening, as his stats from WhoScored suggest.

He showed great awareness to pick out Son with a back-post cross after helping Kane to open the scoring with a whipped corner early on, and the technical ability and clever movement for his own goal underlined how effective a player he can be.

Thanks to him, Spurs were able to pile the pressure on the visitors in a way they may have been unable to do with Lucas Moura on the pitch, as the Argentine is much more accomplished with the ball at his feet.

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That is highlighted by the three key passes he made, and his pass accuracy of 92%, a contrast to the Brazilian who only managed 80% pass accuracy against Watford on Saturday, and thus failed to convince on a rare starting opportunity.

Lucas' displays will only serve to weaken his chances of securing a regular role in the starting line-up, with Pochettino seemingly unconvinced with the winger, evidenced by the fact he was dropped for the Champions League final despite scoring the three goals to get them there against Ajax.

He has only started five matches this term, with the Watford match the first league game he has started since August, but the fact he produced just one key pass and zero shots on target suggests his boss has been vindicated in his latest selection policy, with Lamela's performance another potential nail in his coffin in north London.

To get the best out of the front two, therefore, the Argentine is Pochettino's best option, as other than Eriksen there are few players who can replicate his inventiveness and clinical edge, with three shots also bettering that of Lucas.

The 27-year-old is finally starting to find his fitness and form and now needs to trust of his manager, and if he gets that he could begin to stamp his authority on the team.