Tottenham failed to create enough meaningful chances in a flat display against Manchester United at Old Trafford. But how did they perform individually?
Hugo Lloris, 7
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal was too powerfully struck for any goalkeeper to handle. Lloris made a couple of fizzing efforts look like routine saves. Bored of saying his distribution needs work — it’s his only weakness.
Kyle Walker, 7
Anthony Martial looked back to his best on the left for United, so it was important for Walker to stay alert. That he did, dealing with Martial’s threat on a number of occasions and starting attacks from the back.
Toby Alderweireld, 6
Didn’t look rusty per se, but it might take one or two outings for the best defender in the Premier League to live up to that title again. Hit some decent diagonals but was dragged out of the back line a couple of times by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s clever hold-up play.
Jan Vertonghen, 6
Always looked keen to bring the ball out from the back but sometimes dallied for a little too long when Spurs needed to move it more quickly. Mkhitaryan got in behind him for the goal.
Danny Rose, 7
Criminalised by the Old Trafford crowd for accidentally injuring Mkhitaryan with 10 minutes to go. Continued to put in crucial tackles and did more than most in trying to get Spurs back in the game, sadly to no avail. Should he have tracked Mkhitaryan for the goal, too?
Victor Wanyama, 5
Missed a sitter that would have levelled things up at a vital time in the game. Did his best in advanced positions, but he probably should have been substituted before players like Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen.
Mousa Dembele, 6
Outshone by Paul Pogba in the middle of the park, who was impressive. Despite his best efforts, Dembele has only hit the heights of last season intermittently this term. Is that hip bothering him? Substituted with 25 minutes left.
Christian Eriksen, 6
Certainly appears to have grown in confidence since rediscovering his goalscoring form. Had plenty of shots, a couple that threatened David De Gea, but will hope to make more of an impact in upcoming big games.
Dele Alli, 4
A poor day for Alli was summed up by his decision not to shoot on his left foot when seemingly through on goal. Tried too many flicks and tricks; needs to focus on the basics, especially when his team is trailing.
Heung-Min Son, 6
A typically hit-and-miss Son performance. Very nearly scored with a powerful effort before the break, but overcomplicated things too many times and didn’t do enough to prevent himself being the first starter to be subbed.
Harry Kane, 4
Kane’s uncharacteristic form against United continues. He gave the ball away needlessly for the goal and spent most of the match being kept quiet by Marcos Rojo. A day to forget for the striker.
Substitutes
Moussa Sissoko, 7
Gave Matteo Darmian a torrid time down United’s left with his direct running and willingness to get forward. His crossing wasn’t perfect, but his best performance in a Tottenham shirt should be positively acknowledged.
Harry Winks, 6
Didn’t see too much of the ball. Looked hungry when he did — could be a starter in midweek.
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, N/A
Introduced too late (83′) to make a difference.
MP’s comments surprise me and many. He thinks we played good against a very mediocre side? Absolutely zero in effort or meaningful attempts. Pathetic ! Then he substitutes SON who at least ran and put effort, instead of Alli who it is apparent that is only looking for penalties!! I am sorry, I have said it before and now again, we are neither a CL team nor a winning team of any sort. We are light years away from the likes of Chelski and Ars! PS. (Please train Lloris how to distribute balls and not chaos I the defense with his short passes).
Agree 🙁
Yet again I’m having to watch players with their backs to the opposition goal, the two main culprits yesterday being Kane & Alli.
See what happens Harry! By the way, what where you doing back there anyway? You’re our CF are you not and in a 4-2-3-1 you can’t afford to be anywhere but up front!
That goal was déjà-vu…players facing the wrong way playing tiki-taka…remember the first 10 mins in the second half against Chelsea…José obviously did!
The other bugbear is our forward players positioning themselves behind defenders waiting for the cross-ball to arrive from our wing play.
For god’s sake somebody try to get in front of a defender and/or make a near-post run to create some space behind.
This is all basic stuff that should have been rectified by now.
One step forward, 2 steps back. We just can’t seem to get all 10 outfield players playing well at the same time. Sad to see even Harry K totally stifled by a very mediocre CB (primarily a left back?) in Rojo. Think Deli’s beginning to believe all the hype, trying to be too clever and forgetting the basics. The nutmegs look brilliant when they come off but unfortunately they don’t work very often and possession is lost and team-mates caught out of position.
Put Dier back with Wanyama (and let him get forward for the corners), give Ali a rest and push Dembele forward. His quick feet in and around the box would surely gain a few free-kicks/penalties. Only half-way through the season and already looking tired and stale and now we’re back to the Thursday – Sunday grind. Hope we can freshen things up in the January transfer window.