Tottenham made it three wins on the bounce with victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday but one development might have been even more significant than the result.

Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored the goals in a 2-0 victory after the visitors were reduced to 10 after just 13 minutes thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta's red card for a foul on Micky van de Ven.

The three points took Spurs up to eighth in the table to further consign the nightmare early-season form to memory as Roberto de Zerbi's men made their numerical advantage count to the tune of nearly 80 per-cent possession.

Given the domination in possession as the game went on the final scoreline could, and should, have been even better but Tottenham were wasteful in front of goal and it took Van Hecke's quick reaction while lying on the turf to nod the second in the 73rd minute.

For all the positivity in the result Spurs played an hour against 10 men and still faced losing their lead with one mistake, but a late showing off the bench showed an exciting glimpse into the future for fans.

Williams-Barnett denied dream Premier League debut by Kudus gaffe

De Zerbi sacrificed goal-shy striker Dominic Solanke on 66 minutes as the Italian looked to find a way to get the crucial second goal, introducing Conor Gallagher off the bench.

Dejan Kulusevski followed for the similarly inconsistent Omar Marmoush, but it was surely the late introduction of Luca Williams-Barnett that got supporters onto their feet in their stands.

The teenager made his top flight debut in the 88th minute and almost immediately showed why there has been so much anticipation around him as he created a golden opportunity for a third goal with a dynamic dart into the Palace box, beating multiple defenders.

Williams-Barnett then played the ball across goal for Muhammed Kudus, who had a good game otherwise, to finish into an open goal and hand the 18-year-old a deserved Premier League assist on debut.

Instead, the former West Ham man managed to scuff his attempt back across the unguarded net and wide, although the error was too late in the day and the opposition too exhausted for it to mean much more than a personal frustration for Williams-Barnett.

De Zerbi finally unleashes confident talent as Solanke struggles

Making your breakthrough into the self-styled best league in the world and impressing would be enough for a lot of young players even without anything to show for it in the stats, but based on what De Zerbi has already said about Williams-Barnett, he probably will care and will only want further opportunities to do so.

The Italian was asked about the attacking midfielder's situation prior to the 1-1 draw at Manchester United earlier in October and said:

“Special talent. Special personality also. Because he’s arrogant, but arrogant [is] good for football. Because you have to believe in yourself. Not forgetting to be humble. Humility, but believe in yourself, and the right example is Luca.”

Nobody at Spurs will be getting ahead of themselves over Williams-Barnett on the strength of a late cameo but when he has responded so strongly to his introduction to the fold there is surely mileage in making the most of it and getting him back involved quickly.

Building up some momentum early in his career would give him positive experiences to fall back on when he inevitably hits a rough spell as every player eventually does.

And with more established attackers showing inconsistent form, despite Tottenham finally putting together a sequence of results, the door looks to be open.

Solanke headed a late equaliser in the draw at Old Trafford but only after squandering a glorious chance earlier when the scores were level, and it remains his only strike in the league this term.

That De Zerbi removed him when in search of a goal shows confidence may be waning in the club's lead striker, and with the likes of Mathys Tel, fresh off his superb strike at Chelsea last week, able to play through the middle then the chance is there to insert a fearless teenager into the lineup while his confidence is high.

Spurs face Leeds next weekend who possess a strong defensive unit but a goalkeeper in James Trafford who has committed some key errors so De Zerbi will need his attackers to make the most of their opportunities and his new sensation might be the secret to success.