Tottenham’s record signing, Sandro Tonali, may have just delivered his finest performance yet in a Spurs shirt, despite not finding the back of the net.

Spurs finally ended their six-game winless run in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Coventry City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was an impressive display, spearheaded by the returning James Maddison, who opened the scoring with a wonderful curling effort in the 14th minute.

New signing Omar Marmoush then struck Spurs’ second after Coventry had briefly levelled at 1-1, marking his first goal of the season after six appearances and helping him avoid the infamous “007” tag.

Sandro Tonali delivers complete midfield display in Tottenham vs Coventry clash

While Maddison and Marmoush grabbed the headlines, Spurs had an unsung hero in Sandro Tonali, who quietly produced one of his best performances yet in a Tottenham shirt.

The Italian was not among the goalscorers but was equally influential, doing much of the hard work out of possession. His physical performance stats underline just how much of a workhorse the £100 million midfielder was against Coventry.

According to FotMob, Tonali covered the second-most distance in the match, running 12.3km – only Archie Gray managed more with 12.4km. He also ranked fifth for total running distance at 2.6km, most of it in defensive areas, where he made a match-high 15 defensive contributions.

Tonali’s technical quality was also evident, completing 94% of his passes – the third-highest accuracy of any player on the pitch. He created two chances, attempted two shots from the edge of the box, and consistently looked to progress play with four passes into the final third and three line-breaking passes.

Sandro Tonali’s key stats vs Coventry

Tonali earns plaudits after standout performance

Tonali was the third-highest rated player on the pitch, with FotMob awarding him a 7.9 rating. Spurs Web agreed, giving him an eight in their player ratings and describing his display as “impressive” and vital to Spurs’ midfield.

Our assessment read:

“The £100 million-rated midfielder looked very impressive in the first half, covering plenty of ground in the middle of the park for Tottenham. He continued where he left off in the second half, often offering cover at full-back whenever van Hecke was out of possession. He also came close to giving Spurs a 2-1 lead when he let fly from inside the box after the ball fell kindly to him following a cross. He also found some room outside the box once more after reacting quickest to a loose ball, but his effort was high.”

Roberto De Zerbi had previously insisted that the best of Tonali was yet to come, citing his early-season fitness struggles. His sharpness now looks to have improved, with warm-weather training playing its part, and this performance was a clear sign that Tonali is beginning to show his true quality for Tottenham.