An out of sorts Tottenham struck twice in the final 12 minutes to defeat Southampton and set up an FA Cup 5th Round clash with Norwich City.
Tanguy Ndombele’s early deflected effort opening the scoring before Shane Long pounced to equalise just 11 minutes before half-time. The Saints then took the lead in the 72th minute but goals from Lucas Moura and a penalty from Heung Min Son sent Spurs through.
Here’s how every Tottenham player rated on the day.
Hugo Lloris, 6 – Didn’t cover himself in glory with Long’s equaliser, but made amends with a wonderful second-half save from Jannik Vestergaard close-range header.
Serge Aurier, 6 – Difficult evening up against the pacey Nathan Redmond and Shane Long. Got forward well in the second-half, but his final pass was largely disappointing.
Toby Alderweireld, 7 – Once again, Tottenham’s best defender.
Jan Vertonghen, 3 – Looked way off the pace throughout before he was hooked off – and looked extremely upset as a result.
Japhet Tanganga, 6 – Could have possibly shown Danny Ings onto his left foot for Saints’ second, but didn’t do too much wrong besides that.
Ryan Sessegnon 6, – Started really well and played a major part in Ndombele’s goal, but faded in the second-half and wasn’t as influential after the switch to a back-four.
Eric Dier 5, – Could have done more for Southampton’s first and was poor throughout.
Harry Winks, 7 – Produced a fine pass for Sessegnon for opening goal and continuously tried to push Tottenham forward late on.
Tanguy Ndombele, 6 – Started off extremely brightly, showing some wonderful pieces of skill and it was his deflected strike that led to the opener, but got worse as the game went on before he was predictably taken off just after the hour-mark.
Son Heung-min, 6 – Another below par performance from Son, who was relitavely poor all evening. However, the South Korean won the penalty before confidently dispatching it.
Lucas Moura, 6 – A very Lucas Moura-like performance. Like Son, made some extremely poor decisions in the opening period, but played a major part in turning the game Spurs’ way with a wonderful run and finish to make it 2-2. A confidence-boosting goal, hopefully.
Substitutes:
Dele Alli 8, – Changed the game. Assisted Moura for Tottenham’s second before producing an exquisite pass for the penalty. Fine performance from the 23-year-old, who almost missed the game with an ankle injury but showed little signs of that problem.
Gedson Fernandes, 7 – Looked far more composed than any of his previous cameos. Showed some really nice touches and close ball control. Encouraging performance.
Davinson Sanchez, N/A – Introduced for the final few minutes as Spurs saw the game out.
The player ratings given are spot on,comments likewise, unlike some other reports that I have viewed.
Parrot definition needs some game time, so Moura and Son can get some rest. Need to invest in the next window and sort out that leaky defence, need more clean sheets and players fighting for their position COYS