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Tottenham player ratings v Southampton: Kane wasn’t the only Spurs star

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his sides fifth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his sides fifth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur applauds during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur applauds during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Dele Alli-9

Most times when a player scores a goal and provides two assists, he’s squarely in the frame of being the Man of the Match. Unfortunately, Harry Kane overshadowed Dele Alli’s brilliant performance yesterday.

Some fans are throwing stones at Dele’s refusal to play Erik Lamela in for a clear chance late in the match that that’s short-sighted. Focusing on what Dele did right is much more informative. Namely, he sliced open the Southampton defense both with his piercing runs and his clever passing.

The final result was that Dele looks like a midfielder who is close to going on a terrific run of form. If that happens, the rest of the Premier League need to be very concerned.

Christian Eriksen-7

The Danish maestro provided Kane an excellent assist to open Tottenham’s scoring, but his performance was far from dominant. In fairness to Eriksen, it’s not as if he needed to really take control of the match.

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He did manage to keep the ball moving at a high tempo for the full 90 minutes. Eriksen wasn’t always involved with the direct lead up to goal, but his fingerprints were all over Pochettino’s game plan. It wasn’t Eriksen’s top match, but he was a key cog in the Spurs machine.

Heung-Min Son-8.5

It’s time for me to fully admit that I’ve been wrong about the Korean attacker. This summer I was very much in favour of seeing him sold to the highest bidder. Now, he’s a key part of Pochettino’s high-octane attack.

In many ways, Southampton were the ideal opponent for Son. They’re happy to come out and play offensive football which leaves acres of space open for Son to exploit. He repeatedly got on the ball and moved it into dangerous positions. He ended the match with a goal and two assists, and easily could have contributed more. Son has successfully gone from an afterthought to one of the first names on Pochettino’s team sheet.

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