Tottenham player ratings: Spurs miss chances and fall at Manchester

Tottenham couldn’t find the back of the net at Manchester City on Saturday, but quite a few Spurs players enjoyed solid performance at The Etihad.

Heung-Min Son enjoyed several quality chances for Tottenham on Saturday, but he couldn’t find the range at Manchester City. As such, Spurs fell to Pep Guardiola’s side in an intriguing Premier League tie.

It wasn’t a bad effort at all from the Tottenham perspective. Pochettino’s game plan worked really well. Spurs soaked up pressure from City and then tried to punish them on the counter. Unfortunately for Pochettino and company, they simply weren’t clinical in front of goal. All three points went to City in the end, but read on to discover how each Spurs player performed on the day.

Heung-Min Son-7

On one hand Son was really dangerous and clearly troubled City’s back line. On the other, he failed to cash in any of his wonderful chances in front of goal. A striker’s first task is to score and the talented Korean failed to do so for his team on Saturday. It was an average performance for Son, but it easily could have been a banner day with a little luck.

Lucas Moura-6

The Brazilian played with a healthy amount of energy, but he couldn’t produce a goal either. As usual, his performance started to falter as the match went on. It remains to be seen whether or not Lucas would be better off as a second half substitute capable of changing the match off the bench.

Christian Eriksen-7.5

He was the player who set Son free on multiple occasions. He wasn’t a huge physical presence in the midfield, but that’s not his job either. His passing created more than enough chances to earn his club a result.

Dele Alli-6

Dele created several highlights with his excellent dribbling ability, but you’d be hard pressed to point to anything he really did to help his team win. It’s not that he was bad on the afternoon, but he was well below his usual standard. He was subbed off after just over an hour of action for a reason.

Eric Dier-5

Dier had to start in the midfield due to necessity, and he played a really poor match. He couldn’t break up anything City tried to do in possession and he gave the ball away on multiple occasions. He’s really going to struggle to get back into Pochettino’s starting XI when the Argentine has healthy options.

Juan Foyth-7.5

The Argentine defender was put in a tough spot by his manager. He’s a natural centre back but injuries forced him out to the right at City. That put him up against Raheem Sterling on several high-profile occasions.

The good news for Spurs is that Foyth acquitted himself well. This match will give more juice to the argument that his future lies in the midfield instead of the back line.

Davinson Sanchez-7.5

This was a really solid effort from the former Ajax defender. He’s been a little bit off for most of the season, but he was imperial at times against City. This is a great match for Sanchez to build on and he deserves more time in the near future.

Toby Alderweireld-7

The talented Belgian defender was good in this match, but he wasn’t great. His defence against City was excellent, but his performance gets downgraded slightly for his errant passes forward. Alderweireld’s trademark long diagonals were missing at The Etihad.

Jan Vertonghen-6.5

Vertonghen had a few nervy efforts in defence, but it never really cost his club anything tangible. Still, it’s not a good thing to see him get caught out of position on multiple occasions. He’ll hope to play better moving forward.

Ben Davies-6

Davies really struggled to go up against Bernardo Silva down the left flank. It’s not as if he threatened City in the attacking third either. It’s hard to point to anything he really offered Spurs on the day. A very anonymous performance from the Welshman.

Paulo Gazzaniga-7.5

Critics of Tottenham’s No. 2 keeper will correctly point out that his distribution from the back was erratic. That happens to a lot of keepers against City’s high press.

Gazzaniga does get credit for an immense save against Sterling in the second half that kept Spurs in the match. Some will call it lucky, but he did an excellent job of getting in position to use his leg to make the save.

Victor Wanyama-6.5

One positive from this match is that Wanyama continues to look like he’s regaining the form that used to make him a regular for Tottenham. He picked up a yellow card for hacking Fernandinho in the midfield, but no Spurs fan will fault him for that choice.

Fernando Llorente-5

Pochettino hoped the Spanish veteran could replicate his magic from Wednesday, but he was a non-factor off the subsitute’s bench. The idea was for him to head balls down to onrushing attackers, but he couldn’t find a way to create a meaningful chance for Spurs.

Danny Rose-5.5

Rose wasn’t on the pitch for very long, but he put in an energetic show off the bench. He didn’t accomplish much other than irritating Sterling. That was probably enough for his teammates.