Tottenham are through to the Europa League round of 16 after a 3-0 win over Elfsborg on Thursday evening. Heading into the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Ange Postecoglou was able to call upon Micky van de Ven for the first time since his outing against Chelsea in early December.

Pape Matar Sarr and Richarlison were also in a position to start after coming off early in Sunday's defeat at Leicester City, with Mikey Moore handed a start on the right flank for the Lilywhites. Tottenham saw plenty of the ball early on and spent the vast majority of their time in the Elfsborg half but clear-cut chances were at a premium.

Going close on a couple of occasions through Ben Davies and Sarr, Moore then went so close to netting but Isak Pettersson was on hand to tip his effort over the crossbar. The Elfsborg goalkeeper frustrated Tottenham once again 12 minutes after the restart as he kept out Lucas Bergvall's diving header from Pedro Porro's cross.

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However, he couldn't keep out substitute Dane Scarlett's header on 70 minutes, with fellow sub Oyindamola Ajayi also helping himself to his first senior goal late on with a superb strike from distance. Moore was to make it a night of firsts for academy stars in stoppage time as he also grabbed his maiden senior goal for Tottenham. Here are five things we spotted in the game in north London:

A well-earned rest...sort of

Spurs were given some positive news on the injury front going into the game with Van de Ven, Sarr and Richarlison all in a position to play. Sarr and Richarlison's place in the starting XI meant that Dejan Kulusevski could finally get a well-earned breather after playing so much football of late.

The Swede has played 35 times for Spurs this season, starting all but nine of them. Kulusevski has been in desperate need of a rest for quite some time now but Postecoglou has been unable to take him out of the team due to a lack of players and also Spurs' poor results.

However, the chance arrived against Elfsborg and the same went for Radu Dragusin, who dropped to the bench with Van de Ven coming in. Tottenham's available players have been pushed to the limit in recent months but it was nice for them to finally get a rest ahead of a big week of football coming up for the club.

Dragusin and Kulusevski would only be on the sidelines for 45 minutes, though, as they replaced Van de Ven and Son Heung-min at half-time. Son was Tottenham's standout player in the first half but the boss quite clearly wanted to give his captain a break after playing so much football recently.

Scarlett's immediate impact

There was as a surprise in the Tottenham squad for the Elfsborg match with Scarlett taking his place in the 23-man party. Heading out on loan at the beginning of the season as he linked up with Championship side Oxford United, the striker was recalled by the club last week with the expectation of heading out on loan.

Given the rules where players can only play for two clubs in one season, Scarlett's inclusion in the squad certainly raised eyebrows as an appearance against Elfsborg would rule out a temporary move elsewhere before Monday's transfer deadline. The academy graduate remained with Tottenham in the second half of last season following his Ipswich Town loan struggles as an outing in Spurs' Carabao Cup defeat at Fulham meant he could not leave on loan again in his search for first-team minutes.

Well, given Scarlett's introduction in place of Dragusin in the second half against Elfsborg, the striker will now be staying with Tottenham as he has now played for two different clubs this season. He may well prove to be a decent option to have in the squad between now and May after expertly scoring his first goal for the club with a fine header and also grabbing an assist after teeing up Ajayi.

What Postecoglou told Bergvall

Bergvall was eager to impress coming up against Swedish opposition for the first time since leaving his homeland in the summer to join Tottenham. Clearly wanting to make an impression on the pitch, the youngster was maybe trying too hard to catch the eye instead of relaxing and just playing his normal game.

There was one moment early on in the first half where the midfielder's attempted cross into the area sailed straight out of play and it was something the Elfsborg fans in attendance took great joy in his miskick. Gifting the visitors possession in a good area in the Spurs half not long after, Bergvall then went head-to-head with Jalal Abdullai for the ball down Tottenham's left flank and used his shoulder to barge his opponent out of play.

Perhaps a tad lucky to get away without giving away a free-kick, Postecoglou immediately signalled with both hands for his player to calm down as Bergvall made his way back onto the pitch. The Spurs boss, who was frustrated with his player at a couple of points in the game, clearly sensed that the occasion was getting to him and he made it known that he needed to settle down and let his football do the talking.

Sharp Son

Son has struggled to hit the heights recently but he was a standout player in Tottenham's European tie against Elfsborg. Operating from the left flank with Richarlison's fit enough to start through the middle, the Spurs captain was on it right from the off and that was clear to see when he sent Elfsborg man Simon Hedlund in a totally different direction with a brilliant swivel of the hips.

Son continued to be a constant thorn in Elfsborg's side with some outstanding runs into the area as he displayed his excellent footwork on more than one occasion to get the better of his marker. He almost registered an assist to his name after teeing up Moore, only for Pettersson to tip his effort over the crossbar.

Moore also made an impact from the right, notably going on a couple of runs after easing his way past his opponents with his pace and trickery. Amid Son's woes this season, a repeat performance in the upcoming games against Brentford, Liverpool and Aston Villa would do just nicely. Hopefully that proves to be the case.

Dragusin injury blow and Postecoglou reaction

Dragusin would only be on the pitch for a total of 21 minutes after sustaining an injury when competing for the ball down the touchline. After getting a touch on the ball, the Romanian planted his right foot on the ground and appeared to hurt his knee.

Dragusin was in some pain but managed to get back to his feet to return to the field moments later, only to then immediately go to ground and signal to come off. It is just Tottenham's luck to lose another centre-back on the day Van de Ven returned to action.

A few minutes after Dragusin exited the field, Postecoglou made light of Tottenham's injury crisis when feigning a hamstring injury when looking to retrieve the ball when it went on the pitch. The Australian will be praying Dragusin's injury is the last one for quite some time given how this season has panned out to date.

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