Tottenham Hotspur brought their season back on track as they won the London derby in what ultimately proved to be a nervy encounter. Despite having a three-goal lead until the one hour-mark, Spurs had to defend desperately late in the match to prevent the Hammers from scoring the equalizer. The Lilywhites maintained their commendable away record as Pochettino’s team hung on to their first-half advantage to gain all three points.
We have rated the Tottenham players:
- Hugo Lloris- 6.5/10
Lloris made a brave decision to come out of the box and the punch the ball in the first half to avoid Arnautovic from having a shot on target. Could not have done much to avoid the goals though.
- Serge Aurier- 6/10
It is tricky to rate Aurier for this match as he was influential in both attack and defence before being sent off. The former Paris-Saint Germain man made some excellent last-minute tackles inside the box and also ventured forward. His crossing should have been more accurate but if these were the signs of things to come, then Spurs have found a perfect replacement for Kyle Walker.
- Toby Alderweireld- 7/10
Alderweireld did a good job of leading the defence. Kept things simple and neutralized West Ham’s forwards for major chunks of the game.
- Davinson Sanchez- 7/10
Sanchez made some good tackles inside the box and made it difficult for Hernandez and company to have a clear shot on target. Davinson Sanchez played aggressively and kept up with the pace of the game.
- Jan Vertonghen- 8/10
Vertonghen made timely blocks and interceptions. He regularly went forward and tried to find passes to move the ball to the final third. Overall a very good performance from the Belgian.
- Ben Davies- 6/10
Davies played in a more attacking position to push Zabaleta backwards. He attempted many crosses and was a major part in most of their attacking moves.
- Eric Dier- 6/10
Did the usual job of shielding the defence and blocking the attacking moves from the centre of the pitch. This forced West Ham to play through the flanks often. Dier did not do anything fashionable and had an indirect impact on the game.
- Moussa Sissoko- 6/10
He played the ball around the midfield and had a part in creating some chances. However, Sissoko went off the pitch shortly after Aurier’s sending off as Kieran Trippier came in place of him.
- Christian Eriksen- 9/10
Once again, Eriksen started almost all of Spurs’ attacks and was important in the build-up of the whole goal-scoring process. His perfect through-ball to Alli sliced open the defence completely. In the second goal too, he passed the ball to Dele Alli who attempted a shot on target. Lastly, Eriksen scored the third goal himself which was a perfect finish.
- Dele Alli- 8/10
The young English forward has been improving in every game and today was no different. His delivery to Kane inside the box for the first goal was just a glimpse of his abilities. Alli played a part in the second goal too, which helped the Spurs to double the lead. However, he missed a host of chances late into the second half and looked a tad under-confident to take direct shots on the goal.
- Harry Kane- 9.5/10
Kane was clinical in front of goal and hardly committed any mistakes throughout the game. Almost a perfect display from him, with his freekick missing by a whisker.
Substitutes
- Harry Winks- 6/10
Winks replaced Eriksen and added some much-needed pace and energy.
- Kieran Trippier- 6/10
Trippier filled in for Serge Aurier when the latter was sent off. He did a decent job by covering his side of the field.
- Fernando Llorente- 6/10
Llorente came on to add some aerial prowess while defending in the late stages.