Tottenham player ratings v West Ham: Midfield lets Pochettino down

Heung-Min Son-8

Son was the Man of the Match for me and not just because of the beautiful equalizer he blasted into the top corner. He also gets real credit for his tireless running down West Ham’s flanks. Pablo Zabaleta surely won’t remember his battles against the South Korean fondly.

It wasn’t a perfect match for Son though. He was wasteful with the ball in dangerous areas on several occasions. Still, when you are the one man who manages to beat the opposing keeper, you get a lot of credit. Son isn’t a world-class attacking midfielder, but he has deserved the right to be included in the group just below De Bruyne and company.

Christian Eriksen-7

Some of you might be surprised to see me reward the stylish Dane with such a high rating. It wasn’t his best match in a Spurs shirt, but he was very active. He caused the Hammers’ defense a lot of problems with his constant movement and willingness to pass the ball forward.

On the negative side, you can correctly criticize Eriksen for failing to register either a goal or assist. When you’re given that much time on the ball and surrounded by so much talent, it’s fair to ask for concrete contributions. On another day, Eriksen easily could have found himself on the score sheet.

Dele Alli-6.5

Much of what I said about Eriksen could also be used to describe Dele’s match. He just did everything one step below his Danish teammate. Even so, it’s not hard to imagine him scoring a goal or two in this match if the ball had bounced his way.

Dele must continue to work on elevating his floor. We know he is capable of absolute brilliance on the pitch, but he has to raise the level of his worst performances. This wasn’t that, but he’ll be disappointed he didn’t do more to help his team win.