Tottenham player ratings: Defence take the credit for smash-and-grab as Vertonghen winner hides Kane and Son’s quiet day
TOTTENHAM relied on their defence to produce a huge smash-and-grab win at Wolves on Sunday.
Jan Vertonghen popped up to head the stoppage time winner having spent 90 minutes being terrorised by Adama Troare.
It was the rapid winger who netted his side’s goal at Molineux, driving in from range to level up Lucas Moura’s excellent individual effort earlier on.
As Jose Mourinho’s side head up to fifth in the Premier League table, Marc Mayo rates the Spurs pack who claimed the 2-1 win.
PAULO GAZZANIGA – 7
The goalkeeper was rarely tested for large parts given Wolves’ propensity for shooting right at him. But, having had no chance with the goal, he produced excellent strong parries to deny Raul Jimenez and Roman Saiss in the second-half.
SERGE AURIER – 6
Far from the erratic display Spurs fans still fear with the right-back, his zone was largely ignored defensively as Wolves hammered Vertonghen’s left flank.
DAVINSON SANCHEZ – 7
Faced up to a very dangerous home attack well, making blocks and ensuring openings down the middle were never too clear-cut.
TOBY ALDERWEIRELD – 6
Part of an overall solid defence that lost its head somewhat late on, as symbolised by Alderweireld’s awful lunge for a yellow card on Traore.
JAN VERTONGHEN – 7
Thoroughly outmatched in the pace department up against Adama Traore but stood off him and defended intelligently. He was naturally powerless at times up against the winger’s sheer athleticism but had the last laugh with a well-aimed winning header.
MOUSSA SISSOKO – 6
The nature of the game suited the Frenchman and he came out reasonably well, keeping an eye on Wolves’ central midfielders as they operated deep and away from dangerous areas.
ERIC DIER – 6
An oddly active attacking performance for the anchor man, contributing the assist for Lucas and hitting the post with a daring run in the first-half.
LUCAS MOURA – 6
Hit his third goal in five games under Mourinho with a powerful eighth minute finish – and very little else. For a counter-attacking setup, Spurs hardly utilised his pace at all.
DELE ALLI – 5
The midfielder was forced to drop back a bit given Spurs’ insistence on not having the ball, leading to limited moments in attack. Played a sweet chip through to Dier in the first-half but couldn’t make his mind up when through one-on-one beforehand.
SON HEUNG-MIN – 5
A quiet afternoon for Son who laboured in the rain and was a spectator for much of it.
HARRY KANE – 4
Not his sort of game with Tottenham intent on playing balls into space on the counter-attack, especially after going ahead. Hit the deck too easily on two occasions, trying to win penalties that were simply never there.
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SUBS:
Christian Eriksen – N/A (On for Lucas, 89)
Juan Foyth – N/A (On for Alli, 90)
Harry Winks – N/A (On for Son, 90)
Unused: Skipp, Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Whiteman