Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was again left eulogising Rafael van der Vaart after another two-goal blast killed off Aston Villa.
The devastating Dutchman scored twice in a 2-1 win over Villa just under three months ago at White Hart Lane and repeated the feat as Spurs won by the same score at Villa Park.
Van der Vaart now has 10 goals this season since his bargain £8million move from Real Madrid at the end of August.
And such is the talismanic status of the 27-year-old midfielder that Spurs have yet to lose in the eight games in which he has scored.
"Rafa has been fantastic for us," Redknapp said. "He's a 15 to 20 goal a year man, and he has everything as a player.
"He's not just a goalscorer, but a fantastic footballer.
"Even now I'm surprised how easily I was able to get him. It shows there are some good players about at places like Real Madrid who can't get into that team and you can pick up."
Van der Vaart's first came in the 23rd minute, stepping onto a low cross from Alan Hutton after the full-back had been sent scampering down the right wing by a raking 50-yard cross-field ball from Gareth Bale.
Spurs then appeared as if they would be forced onto the back foot when Jermain Defoe was shown a straight red card four minutes later for an elbow in the face of Villa captain James Collins.
But despite dominating possession, Villa rarely troubled until Van der Vaart grabbed his second in the 67th minute, finishing off a devastating counter attack with an exquisite finish from 16 yards.
"I said to the players at half-time that I felt there was another goal in it for us, that even with 10 men I felt we could catch them on the break because we've got pace," Redknapp added.
"With (Aaron) Lennon and Bale, and Rafa's ability, I felt we would hit them on the counter at some stage and get another goal, and we did that."
Villa managed to pull one back eight minutes from time through Marc Albrighton, but it was not enough to prevent a fourth defeat in the last six games to leave the club hovering over the relegation zone.
As for Spurs, they are back up to fifth thanks to Van der Vaart who said: "When you claim three points with 10 men, we did a great job.
"If we continue to play like this then it's going to be a great season for us."
The downside for Tottenham was the fact they have now lost Defoe for the next three matches, even if the decision from referee Martin Atkinson appeared harsh.
Although he led with his arm, Defoe kept his eyes on the ball at all times.
"I've not seen a replay but the boys looked at it at half-time and they all felt it was harsh," Redknapp added.
"They said Jermain didn't take his eye off the ball and he's not an aggressive player anyway.
"To be fair, at times I wish he was more aggressive in games away from home - not in a nasty way - but he's not the type to do that."
Asked if he would appeal against the decision, Redknapp did not give a direct answer, although he implied he would not.
"He'll be a big miss for us, but we're lucky because we've (Roman) Pavlyuchenko and (Peter) Crouch, and we've two home games coming up, so we're not so badly off," he added.
Villa must now attempt to resurrect their festive campaign at Manchester City on Tuesday on the back of what manager Gerard Houllier described as "a disappointing result."
Houllier added: "The first goal affected our morale and when they went down to 10 men we knew they would rely on the break.
"The second half was better, there was a reaction, but we should not have conceded a second goal, which was vital."
