Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings
Tottenham Hotspur overcome the absence of Harry Kane to cling on for three points against a gutsy, spirited Southampton side, by winning 2-1 at the White Hart Lane.
Christian Eriksen fired home the opening goal from outside the box after 14 minutes after collecting a short pass from Mousa Dembele. Later, Steven Davis brought down Dele Alli in the box and the England midfielder converted the penalty. Saints had a strong shout for a spot-kick of their own in first-half injury time when Ben Davies brought Dusan Tadic down.
Southampton hit back in the 52nd minute when James Ward-Prowse converted Ryan Bertrand’s cross at the far post. They kept coming at Spurs from then on, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men managed to hold on, to reduce the gap at the top between Chelsea to 10 points.
Here’s how the Tottenham players fared:
Hugo Lloris – 6/10
Had to make a few routine stops. Nothing really troubled him. He was commanding in the box and his positioning was spot on. Couldn’t do much about the goal that was conceded.
Eric Dier – 6/10
Mixed outing for the Englishman. Made a few sloppy passes, let his man get past on a few occasions, but made several crucial interventions later on.
Toby Alderweireld – 7/10
Had a bullet header superbly denied by Forster. Missed his clearance in the second half to allow the ball to reach Ward-Prowse to score for the Saints. An unlikely error.
Jan Vertonghen – 7/10
Stayed composed and dealt well with Shane Long who was looking threatening. He was left exposed by Alderweireld’s mistake when Spurs conceded the goal.
Kyle Walker – 7/10
Came out on top in his intriguing battle against the enterprising Nathan Redmond. Was taken off due to a thumb injury.
Victor Wanyama – 7/10
Showed what his former side was missing, with another typically combative and battling performance in the middle of the park.
Mousa Dembele – 7/10
Put in an authoritative display alongside Wanyama. Went about his job quietly and brought calmness to the midfield.
Ben Davies – 7/10
Lucky not to have conceded a penalty after fouling Tadic. Other than that blip, had a fairly solid outing.
Christian Eriksen – 8/10
Produced a sublime finish to open the scoring for Tottenham. Constantly split open the Saints defence with his brilliant passing.
Dele Alli – 8/10
Was tripped in the box and took the resulting penalty confidently dispatching it into the net. Linked up very well with Eriksen.
Son Heung-Min – 6/10
Was denied early in the game and had very few chances thereafter. His interplay with Eriksen and Alli was good at times. Was taken off later in the game to protect the lead.
Substitutes
Harry Winks – 6/10
Came in for Son in the 75th minute as Pochettino looked to solidify their defence. Did a decent job.
Kieran Trippier – 6/10
Replaced the injured Walker. Held things firm after coming on.
Vincent Janssen – 7/10
Came on for the final four minutes and helped Spurs ease a lot of pressure as he won a fair share of free-kicks. Had a powerful effort at goal, only to denied by Forster.