Tottenham player ratings: 4-0 win over Stoke
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides first goal with his team mates during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Which Spurs stars played the best in Tottenham’s 4-0 win?
If you’re a Tottenham fan who wasn’t satisfied with the club’s performance against Stoke today, you really should seek professional help. Spurs dominated the match from start to finish in stylish fashion.
As a result, this edition of my Tottenham player ratings should be a relatively sunny proposition. You won’t see many low marks here. For the most part, each player who stepped onto the pitch for Mauricio Pochettino put in an excellent performance.
Still, some players always perform a little better than others. Read on to find out which Spurs really distinguished themselves from the rest against the Potters. We’ll rate the Tottenham squad from back to front starting with keeper Hugo Lloris.
Hugo Lloris-7
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In fairness to the French keeper, he didn’t have much to do against Stoke. I can’t recall him making a single difficult save all day. He struggled a bit dealing with the Potters’ barrage of corners in the first half, but all-in-all it was a comfortable performance from the Spurs captain.
Ben Davies-7.5
Some Spurs fans were quite concerned about the Welshman taking Danny Rose’s place in the starting XI. Ultimately, those fears were proved to be irrational. Davies put in a very solid performance. If I’m nitpicking, I would have liked to see him get forward a little more. That’s a pretty minor detail though. Davies acquitted himself well in Rose’s absence.
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur holds off Stephen Ireland of Stoke City during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Jan Vertonghen-8
You shouldn’t be surprised at the excellent rating for Vertonghen. He was a big reason that Stoke weren’t able to trouble Lloris. His position was excellent and allowed him to block several potentially dangerous shots. If he plays like this all year, Spurs are going to be awfully tough to score on.
Toby Alderweireld-8.5
If you liked what Vertonghen did, you have to love what his Belgian partner provided. He was just as good on the defensive end, and he managed to really bomb forward on occasion. His ability to play the ball from the back continues to be a huge advantage for Pochettino.
Kyle Walker-7.5
Walker was pretty good, but not great against Stoke. He didn’t really make any errors, and he did provide a sumptuous assist for Dele Alli’s goal. My only gripe is that he really didn’t get forward enough. Some of that had to do with his duel with Marko Arnautovic, but in Rose’s absence I expected a bit more from the athletic right back.
Victor Wanyama-6
This was the Kenyan destroyer’s worst performance in a Tottenham shirt. He seemed a step off the pace, and had to be subbed off to avoid the risk of being sent off. He’ll bounce back, but it wasn’t a banner day for Wanyama.
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur (R) celebrates scoring his sides first goal with Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur (L) during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Eric Dier-6
Dier wasn’t any better than Wanyama in Pochettino’s double-pivot. Predictably, he played better once Wanyama came off. He just can’t find the rhythm playing next to another defensive-minded midfielder. Lucky for him, Moussa Dembele’s suspension is finally over.
Son Heung-Min-9
Regular readers of my work know that I’ve been hugely critical of the South Korean attacker. I have to admit I was quite impressed with his performance against Stoke. He put away two clever finishes which is exactly what he was brought in to do. The only negative in his stellar performance was his absolutely awful attempt at setting Dele Alli free on the break in the second stanza. Still, he was almost the man of the match.
Christian Eriksen-9.5
The only man who played better than Son on the afternoon was Christian Eriksen. As predicted, the signing of a new Spurs contract finally allowed him to play free of distraction. The result was a masterful performance by the Danish attacker. His slick play set up both of Son’s goals and he utterly controlled the match from the midfield. He simply played like a star.
Dele Alli-8.5
It’s almost cruel that Alli’s brilliant performance is being somewhat overshadowed by Son and Eriksen. On any other day, all we would be talking about was the brilliance of the midfield starlet. He showed great movement on the day and coolly finished off Stoke with his second half goal. He got back to the type of play that made him a star. It was a very encouraging performance for Alli.
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur scores his sides first goal past Shay Given of Stoke City during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on September 10, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Harry Kane-7
The good news is that Harry Kane’s goalless streak is over. He officially has silenced that criticism. The bad news, is that it still wasn’t a vintage performance by the Spurs centre-forward. He put in a decent shift, but he still didn’t showcase the level of activity we need to see.
Erik Lamela-7.5
For a player who was supposed to be fatigued from his performance for his country, Lamela sure looked lively when he came on as a substitute. He was strong on the ball and consistently got himself into dangerous positions. It was no coincidence that his insertion into the lineup led to Spurs taking the match by the throat.
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Moussa Sissoko-6
Sissoko showed good energy when he came on, but didn’t really get anything accomplished. The best thing about his performance is that he got his Spurs debut out-of-the-way. Expect him to grow more comfortable with each passing match.
Vincent Janssen-5.5
The Dutch striker came on late for Harry Kane and really didn’t accomplish anything at all. In fairness, the match was well-decided and Tottenham’s attacking midfielders had stopped really pushing forward at that point. Still, I would have liked to have seen a bit more of a killer instinct from Janssen.
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