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Tottenham player ratings at Palace: Sanchez and Dier dominate

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur shoots during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on February 25, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur shoots during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on February 25, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur (R) breaks away from James McArthur of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on February 25, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur (R) breaks away from James McArthur of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on February 25, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /

Mousa Dembele-6

I mentioned in the match preview that Dembele has a tendency to play up or down to his level of competition. Unfortunately for Spurs, he took a step down to meet Palace at their level in this fixture.

Dembele wasn’t bad per se, but he certainly wasn’t all that good. Spurs struggled to get numbers forward in the first half and the Belgian’s unwillingness to bomb forward was a contributing factor. In truth, Pochettino probably didn’t need to start two defensive midfielders in this one. Dembele wasn’t enough of a factor for me in this one.

Victor Wanyama-5.5

Everything I just said about Dembele’s performance can be assigned to Wanyama’s afternoon as well. He wasn’t awful, but it won’t be a match he recalls with any fondness.

His performance did pick up slightly when Dembele went off the pitch. I often think his best performances come when he’s deployed as the only defensive midfielder. He just seems more comfortable when his only responsibilities are to shield the back four and then cycle the ball forward.

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