PLAYER RATINGS: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Cardiff City

Tottenham closed the gap to 4 with Manchester City with a win over Cardiff at White Hart Lane. Roberto Soldado broke his duck to score the only goal of the game as Adebayor provided the assist. Tottenham controlled most of the possession in the game and coasted to victory after they found the goal in the first half. Cardiff’s biggest chance came in the first half when Steven Caulker hit the crossbar.

Hugo Lloris – Typical decent performance from the French shot-stopper as he produced a good save from Declan John’s shot. He wasn’t involved in the game too much and he had a comfortable afternoon.

Kyle Naughton – Unlike the past couple of weeks, Naughton delivered great crosses from set pieces against Cardiff but he looked shaky at times as overlapping Declan John gave him trouble in the first half. He attacked more in the second half and had a comfortable afternoon in the end.

Michael Dawson – Some bad defending from the captain in the first half as his missed kicks almost gave Cardiff a chance to score in the first half. His attacking approach to the set plays was encouraging and he showed real intent to score from corners. He was incredible in the second half as he did not make a mistake and made some great clearances.

Jan Vertonghen – Cleaned up the mess that his counterpart made in the first half, and he was solid at the back. In the second half, he did not have much to do but when needed made some good clearances to help Michael Dawson.

Zeki Fryers – Really solid display from the left-back in attack as his crosses looked dangerous all game long. However, Fabio gave him real trouble with his runs. Couple of his passes was misplaced but he recovered well from his mistakes.

Mousa Dembele – He produced a decent performance as he controlled the midfield. His passes were on point but at times he struggled to find the right pass. His mistakes led to a few Cardiff counter attacks but overall, he was good.

Paulinho – He was energetic in the early stages as he looked to play one-twos but the lack of movement from other players affected him as he lost his movement in the attacking area. However, he was really solid in the midfield and he bossed the opposition midfielders.

Aaron Lennon – He had couple of threatening runs behind John but he never came up with the final product but his pressure to the opposition defenders was useful.

Andros Townsend – His pace, movement and shot threat made Cardiff afraid of him. He produced a good long range shot that didn’t find the target. His pace was the main reason behind Tottenham’s goal as he picked the ball up from his own half and quickly found Adebayor that ended up in the back of the net.

Emmanuel Adebayor – His energy and effort were there but he was stuck in the peripheral areas and couldn’t get the ball inside the box to create a real chance. Provided a perfect pass to Soldado and held the ball up in the attacking area to see the game off.

Roberto Soldado – Finally, he scored. He was hungry from the get go and his movement was good but Cardiff’s 3 centre half approach denied him the space he needed. In the 30th minute, he ran from his own half to score the goal inside the box where he made a reputation for himself. After the goal, he did not show much like the rest of the Tottenham players.

Subs

Nacer Chadli – Came on for Andros Townsend in the 70th minute and he mostly passed the ball around in the last 20 minutes. He tried to open up the Cardiff defence with skilful runs, but it didn’t happen. Provided a great pass to Harry Kane in the dying minutes but Kane couldn’t convert.

Sandro – The Beast is back in the Premier League and he had an encouraging outing. He came on for Paulinho in the 73rd minute and mostly closed down opponents in the middle of the park. He prevented couple of Cardiff counter attacks with smart fouls and made some crucial clearances in the end.

Harry Kane – Came on for Soldado in the 83rd minute and he had the perfect chance to score his first Premier League goal but Marshall saved his low shot. He held up the ball well with Adebayor and did not have much effect on the game.

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