Jose Mourinho's dream start as Tottenham manager continued and he had high praise for the "amazing" Dele Alli, who scored twice in a 3-2 victory at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.
The win marked a third-successive victory for the Portuguese since replacing Mauricio Pochettino and Mourinho said pushing Alli further up the pitch -- a position he played in the early days under the Argentine coach -- has been key.
"For me, Dele is not a midfielder. He needs to be playing where he is, right behind Harry Kane," Mourinho said. "I couldn't ask for more. He's playing amazing, scoring goals, assisting, working, fantastic."
Despite watching them win their first back-to-back league games since April, it was not all good news for Mourinho, though, as his side conceded late goals for the second week running to take the gloss of a commanding display.
While Mourinho will be acutely aware that conceding six goals in three games is not sustainable, he has returned some smiles to Tottenham who moved up to fifth spot in the Premier League, six points behind Chelsea.
"I could say we conceded four goals in two games at home but I prefer to say we scored seven goals at home," he told reporters.
Alli has been a shadow of the player that helped Tottenham to successive title challenges under Pochettino but appears to have his mojo back which is good news for club and country.
However, the 23-year-old has now scored three goals in three games, including their midweek Champions League win against Olympiakos, after scoring just three in 23 appearances before Pochettino's departure.
Tottenham's drastic improvement will be tested at Manchester United on Wednesday, the club that sacked Mourinho a year ago. Win that and talk of a top-four finish will resume.
"I am very happy with many things in the game but I think we have to improve on aspects. I am pleased with the victory, the points and the goals," Mourinho said. "Now we are closer and we have match, match, match for the Christmas period."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.